(BEAVER DAM) Families across Beaver Dam are being urged to learn how online predators target kids — and how to stop it — at a community event Thursday night.
The program, focused on sextortion, runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. March 26 at Beaver Dam High School. Organizers say the goal is simple: help parents and teens recognize the warning signs before it’s too late.
The event is facilitated by 5-Stones Dodge County and features families who have lost their children after online blackmail schemes, along with members of the Wisconsin Department of Justice Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Tracy Scheffler, founder of 5-Stones Dodge County, said bringing in those families is both meaningful and difficult — but necessary. She said parents like John DeMay, who is traveling from Michigan, and Luke and Brittany Bird of Wausau are choosing to speak out after losing their sons to sextortion.
Scheffler said the cases often follow a devastating pattern. Teens are manipulated or threatened online, panic sets in, and they feel trapped with nowhere to turn — exactly the reaction predators are counting on as they try to extort or blackmail them.
By sharing their stories, she said, those families hope other parents and young people will recognize the warning signs sooner and avoid falling into the same traps.
Sextortion typically involves someone posing as a peer online, convincing a young person to share explicit images, then threatening to release those images unless money is paid. Advocates say the schemes move quickly and often leave kids feeling isolated and afraid to ask for help.
Organizers say the evening will walk families through how these scams work, what to watch for, and how to respond if a child is targeted.
Because of the sensitive topic, parental discretion is advised. Children younger than 10 will not be admitted.
The event is free and open to the public.
