Sextortion victim shares ordeal after being threatened with release of intimate images

• ITV Granada Reports Correspondent Elaine Willcox reports as a victim of sextortion recounts his ordeal.

A man who fell victim as a teenager to criminals demanding money from him and threatening to share his intimate images has opened up about his ordeal.

The man, who ITV News are calling Peter, was 13 when he became a victim of sextortion after believing he was talking to a girl online.

He was manipulated into exposing himself and was told that his intimate pictures would be shared with his family, unless Peter sent them more explicit pictures.

The abuse only stopped when he told his mother.

Peter was spending time on Skype within a gaming community and regularly speaking to people he did not know. He was contacted online and was led to believe someone was interested in him.

Peter said: “I remember someone saying this girl was keen, and I added her on Skype. I thought I was talking to someone my age – I had no idea it was going to turn into blackmail.”

Peter explained that the situation escalated quickly. His Skype account was linked to Facebook and his friends list was public, with comments and likes on photos revealing family members – which the offender then used to threaten him.

He said: “It felt like the whole thing turned on its head. I was shocked, and at 13 it was hard to process. The threat of them sending it to my family was terrifying.”

After a brief period, Peter told his mum, who supported him and challenged the offender over Skype. The contact then stopped.

Peter says it has only become easier to speak about his experience in recent years and he now realises how much it affected him, including shaping his interest in privacy and cyber security.

He added: “At the time I didn’t report it, but I wish I had. Reporting gives the police a chance to identify offenders and stop them harming other people.”

Merseyside Police dealt with 576 cases in the 12 months up to September 2025, with more male teenagers being targeted.Detective Sergeant Danny Gavin said the force is stepping up enforcement and prevention activity to tackle sextortion and encouraging people to come forward.

DS Gavin said: “Sextortion is blackmail. Offenders use threats and coercion to try to control victims, and we want people to know they will be taken seriously and supported if they report.

“Our specialist investigators are relentless in their pursuit of offenders. We’ll follow the evidence wherever it leads, and work across borders when we need to, to identify offenders and put them before the courts.”

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