KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville Police Lt. Andrew Boatman's seen a lot in his career as a police officer.
He's now working with Knoxville's Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, or ICAC, where he and other officers protect kids from online predators.
Boatman said law enforcement has been working in this capacity since the late 1990s, but there's been an uptick in criminal cases stemming from the internet over the past 10 years.
"The prevalence of exploitation of children in various forms continues to grow," Boatman said. "I think from 2021 until 2023 we've seen over 100 percent growth in cyber tips, just in Tennessee. And that mirrors what we're seeing nationwide."
The first thing a parent needs to do if their kid is being targeted by an online predator is submit a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's website, he said.
"What that allows us to do, using them as a central repository, is we are able to connect these cases across the country and across the world," Boatman said.
The internet has no borders, so people from anywhere could be targeting kids in East Tennessee.
Boatman says kids can be exploited by predators who coerce them to send and post explicit photos online.
Recent allegations against a Blount County man, Kyle Spitze, show that some of that crime is allegedly happening in East Tennessee.
Knoxville Police aren't investigating the Spitze case. The FBI is pressing federal charges against him.
Spitze is accused of three counts of production of child pornography, three counts of distribution of animal crushing videos, one count of enticement and one count of possession and access with intent to view child pornography. The charges are connected to allegations of Spitze enticing a young girl to cut herself and film herself nude, and of him beheading several live chickens, then posting that video online.
Enticement isn't the only online crime ICAC is seeing.
"Now what we're seeing is generative AI used to create images that they can then use to extort people," Boatman said.
Boatman says no app is inherently safe, but there are ways to keep kids safe.
"The best way that you can protect your child is to be active in their lives, be active in their communications just like you would be in real life," he said, adding that kids need to understand that if something's posted online, it's there forever.
Boatman points to information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as a resource for parents and kids.
There's an entire section of its website dedicated to sextortion, with these tips to help people who think they may be victims:
- Remember, the blackmailer is to blame, not you. Even if you made a choice you regret, what they are doing is a crime.
Get help before deciding whether to pay money or otherwise comply with the blackmailer. Cooperating or paying rarely stops the blackmail.
Report the account via the platform’s safety feature.
Block the suspect but Do Not Delete your profile or messages because that can be helpful in stopping the blackmailer.
- Let NCMEC help get images of you down. Visit MissingKids.org/IsYourExplicitContentOutThere to learn how to notify companies yourself or visit cybertipline.org to report to us for help with the process.
- Visit Take It Down so NCMEC can help you get your explicit images removed from the internet. Having nudes online is scary, but there is hope to get them taken down.
- Ask for help. The problems can be very complex and require help from adults or professionals. If you don’t feel that you have adults in your corner, you can reach out to NCMEC for support at gethelp@ncmec.org or you can call us at 1-800-THE-LOST.