Explicit picture blackmailing

[Wheetbiz]

My 13yr old has confessed to sending a mildly explicit snap upon the request of someone who has now threatened to send the photos to all her followers unless she sends more explicit photos. Then the perpetrator proceeded to send nude photos of themselves.
What should we do?
I found her in a panic attack situation wishing she could die but ive managed to help her settle. We have reported the user profile to snapchat and blocked him.

[Sophia-RO]

Hello @Wheetbiz , I'm sorry to hear about what has happened. Sounds like a really difficult situation for you and your daughter to be in. It also sounds like you have been really supportive of your daughter so far and have taken some action to help her out. As per our community guidelines, we are unable to provide you with legal professional advice, so it might be worthwhile talking to the police or a legal aid service to get some specific advice/support. Here is a link to a legal aid service that you might find to be helpful. 

It sounds like this has been a pretty tough situation for your daughter to go through. You mentioned that you managed to help her settle after she wished she could die, which is great to hear. Do you have any current concerns about your daughter's safety? Sounds like it would be helpful for her to talk with a counsellor or psychologist about what she has been through. Do you think talking with her school psychologist would be an option for her?

[Philippa-RO]

Welcome to the forums @Wheetbiz - I'm really glad you reached out here for support.

What a worrying situation for you - I imagine it must have been heartbreaking to find out your daughter had been exploited in this way, causing her so much distress.

It's so positive that she felt able to talk to you and seek your help and support. 

I just wanted to follow up from Sophia's post to also suggest the eSafety website which includes a lot of helpful resources. Have you considered making a police report about what happened to your daughter? It's also possible to report image-based abuse via the esafety website or via the  Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation website. There is also some information on sexual extortion on the ThinkUKnow website that may be worth a read. 

It may be helpful for your daughter to have access to counselling support through this if that's something you think she'd be interested in trying. Kids Helpline also offers phone counselling 24/7 if she needs someone to talk to. 

I hope something here is helpful - we're here to support you.