Suspected Online Child Predator Arrested, SPD Provides Tips for Parents
Springfield, Mass. — On Tuesday December 3rd at approximately 6:00 a.m., members of the Springfield Police Firearms Investigation Unit (FIU) and Springfield Police Emergency Services Unit (ESU) under the direction of Sergeants Jaime Bruno and David Robillard, United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force, Massachusetts State Police VFAS and Hampden County Sheriff’s Department assisted Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in arresting 19-year-old Hector Martinez at his home on the 100 block of Cambridge Street.
Booking photo of Hector Martinez
Martinez was arrested on a Fugitive from Justice Warrant in connection with charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, dissemination of obscene materials to a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor. All known victims at this time are from out of state. Martinez is alleged to have been coercing children to engage in online sexual activity.
Working with Homeland Security Investigations, the Springfield Police Department would like to provide parents some information on how to know the threats, take action and how to report suspected online predatory behavior and keep your kids safe online.
Know the Threats
Online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) is a horrific crime that targets some of the most vulnerable people in our communities — our children and teens. It includes a broad range of criminal acts that involve exploiting minors for sexual gratification or some other personal or financial gain.
Online CSEA can take many forms. Predators may be a family member or family friend, someone the child knows in person or online or a complete stranger. They work to earn a child’s trust (and sometimes the parent or caregiver’s trust, as well) to develop a relationship where a child feels comfortable doing things they wouldn’t ordinarily do, such as sharing explicit images or videos of themselves. These images don’t always immediately include nudity or sexual acts; sometimes they feature a child or teen in various stages of undress, and later may progress into more revealing clothing, nudity or other sexual content. This process can happen quickly, as a single interaction, or over time.
Sometimes, children and teens self-produce images or videos and share them with others. If predators get their hands on these images or videos, they can use them to exploit the child or teen.
After someone convinces a child or teen to send sexually explicit material, they usually do whatever it takes to get the child to send more. Sometimes they threaten to share the child’s original images or videos with their friends and family — or with the public — to coerce them into sending more images. They can also financially sextort the child by threatening to share the images unless paid immediately with money or gift cards. In other cases, these people convince their victims that they’re in an intimate relationship together; then, they threaten to end the relationship or harm themselves to get the child or teen to send more sexually explicit material. Online predators may also encourage children or teens to engage in self-harm as a means of control or for the predator’s sexual gratification.
Cellphones, tablets and all connected devices give online predators access to an endless supply of potential victims, from the smallest rural areas to the largest cities. In a brief moment, photos or videos can be shared around the world.
Take Action
Understand the problem. Know the threats. Take action.
These are the three ways you can fight online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA). Together, we can help prevent this crime and get victimized children and teens the support they need. The following sections explain how you can take an active role in protecting the kids you care about.
Have the Talk
It’s never too early to start talking to children and teens about the risks they face online and continue talking about them at every age. Like teaching a child how to safely cross the street, continuous discussions and reminders are key to safe online habits.
For younger children:
- Teach them not to click on pop-ups.
- Explain that they should never share passwords, addresses or personal information with people they don’t know online.
- Create a series of steps they should follow if they see inappropriate content, such as looking away and telling a parent or trusted adult.
- Warn them not to trust people they meet online, and tell them they should tell a trusted adult if someone makes them feel nervous, scared or uncomfortable.
- Teach online etiquette and how to be respectful of others, and let them know they should tell someone if they feel disrespected.
- Help them identify a trusted adult or guardian they can go to for help.
For tweens and teens:
- Talk about how they should never post personal information or inappropriate content.
- Discuss sexting and the permanency of online data.
- Teach them how to avoid online predators by setting up privacy controls on their devices, like restricting apps’ location access.
- Explain the warning signs that characterize online predators.
- Tell them that safe adults won’t ask them to keep secrets or disrespect their boundaries.
- Help them identify a trusted adult or guardian they can go to for help.
- Discuss steps they can take if a friend confides in them about inappropriate online interactions, such as telling a trusted adult or pointing them to Know2Protect resources.
- Explain that minors shouldn’t disseminate sexual abuse material because it’s illegal.
- Explain that even if they’ve already shared sexual abuse material or been involved in inappropriate online interactions, it’s not too late to tell an adult and get help.
- Discuss cyberbullying.
Top 10 Tips2Protect
- Start an open, two-way conversation with your child.
- Password-protect or control access to your child’s app store and gaming downloads.
- Set time and area limits for use of devices and set device check-in times.
- Set all apps, games and devices to private.
- Turn off location data services on social media and nonessential apps.
- Talk about data permanency. Online data can last a lifetime.
- Create a contract with your child regarding online behavior.
- Know your child’s friend lists. Remove strangers.
- Warn your child that they should never leave a game to chat with someone they don’t know on a different platform.
- Do not delete messages, images or videos from predators and do not forward any sexually explicit images or videos. Save usernames, screenshots and images or videos as evidence for law enforcement to collect directly from the device.
What are Children and Teens Doing Online?
As a parent or trusted adult, it’s important that you know how children and teens spend their time online. According to Common Sense Media, media use in 2021 increased to more than 5 hours per day among tweens and more than 8 hours per day among teens. The top apps for teens in 2023 were YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. According to a U.S. Surgeon General report, “Social media use by young people is nearly universal, with up to 95% of young people ages 13-17 reporting using a social media platform and more than a third saying they use social media ‘almost constantly.’”
Understand How Online Exploitation Happens
The internet is the modern playground — and online predators go where children go to make initial contact and begin rapport-building. Meeting places often include the top chat apps, online games and social media platforms where children and teens spend their time. Online predators often use fake profiles to pose as similar-aged boys or girls to gain trust. Then, they attempt to move the conversation to another platform that has end-to-end encryption or meet in person.
After meeting and building trust, grooming begins. Grooming can be as simple as giving compliments and positive attention or can take the form of money, gifts, e-gift cards or in-game credits. Over time, online predators introduce sexual conversations that become increasingly more explicit. These interactions can progress to include the exchange of illicit images or even lead to an in-person meeting.
Grooming doesn’t always take place over days or weeks, though. It can happen in one sitting, over the span of minutes or hours.
Online predators typically coerce children or teens into providing sexual abuse material for one of two reasons. In some cases, they want the child or teen to meet them in person, where they can commit physical sexual abuse. In other cases, they threaten or blackmail their victim into paying them through various means, such as prepaid cards, peer-to-peer transaction apps or cryptocurrency, in exchange for keeping the victim’s images or videos private. However, the abuse can also take the form of harassment and not escalate to financial gain or physical assault.
- Sudden changes in mood or emotional state.
- Evasiveness about online activities, such as minimizing screens, hiding accounts or hiding apps.
- Withdrawing from real-world friends and becoming hyper-focused on the online environment.
- Receiving random gifts from strangers.
- Using inappropriate or sexual language you have not heard them use.
- Giving vague answers regarding online behavior and actions.
These are common indicators, but you know your child best. Be aware of any behavior that seems out of the ordinary.
Respond Appropriately
If a child or teen becomes a victim of online CSEA, here’s what you can do:
- Remain calm. Children and teens are victims in these situations, and it’s not their fault.
- Ensure that the child or teen knows they are not alone and that there is a way out. An increasing number of U.S. teen boys who were victims of online sextortion have committed suicide, so offering solidarity, empathy and hope is vital.
- Stop communicating with the online predator and save all evidence in its original form, such as images, videos and messages. Do not alter, change or delete anything.
- Contact law enforcement and ensure they can access the device. Visit Know2Protect’s How2Report page to learn more.
Get more tips for supporting a child or teen you care about on Know2Protect’s Survivor Support page.
Get Involved
Armed with the right tools and information, you can be an advocate to end online CSEA in your community. Here are some ways to join the fight and offer support.
How2Report
Online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) is a serious crime that is never the victim’s fault. Stopping exploitation usually requires a victim to come forward to someone they trust — a parent, teacher, caregiver, law enforcement official or another trusted adult. This requires a lot of vulnerability from the victim. It is important to help them gather information to report the crime, choose an option with which they are comfortable and support them through this process.
- Contact your local, state or tribal law enforcement officials directly. Call 911 in an emergency.
- Call the Know2Protect Tipline at 833-591-KNOW (5669). All information received via the Tipline will be reviewed by appropriate personnel and referred to Homeland Security Investigations field offices for potential investigation.
- Submit a CyberTipline report with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
When2Report
If you suspect that someone is exploiting or abusing a child, you should notify law enforcement authorities as soon as possible, whether the person you suspect is an adult, teen or child. For a deeper understanding of the threat, visit Know the Threats. You should file a report when someone:
- Harasses a child or teen or makes them feel unsafe online.
- Asks or pressures a child or teen to take pictures or videos of their private parts or to show their private parts on a video call or livestream.
- Threatens a child or teen by saying they’ll share previous explicit images with others if the child doesn’t provide more photos or money.
- Creates, distributes or possesses child sexual abuse material.
NOTE: This is not an exhaustive list and experiences may differ. If you suspect a child or teen is being exploited or abused, report it — whether it happens once or multiple times, and whether you’re certain or simply suspicious.
Reporting Tips2Know
Remember that online CSEA is never the victim’s fault and you should encourage children and teens to speak to a trusted adult. Check out these tips you can use to help children and teens if you suspect someone is exploiting or abusing them online:
- Victims of sextortion should never pay or send more images; doing so makes things worse.
- Save everything. Do not delete images, videos or texts — they will help the criminal investigators do their job. The more they know, the better they can help.
- The sooner you report the crime, the better. Reporting online CSEA can help stop the perpetrator before it happens to someone else.
- There is a way out for victims and support for survivors. Please visit the Survivor Support page for more information.
- Law enforcement officers are mandated to report suspected exploitation and abuse to child protective services. You can find your state’s child welfare organization here.
What Happens After a Report
Remember: Reporting an incident helps law enforcement officials stop the harassment, arrest the offender and point the victim to support and other resources. Below is a detailed infographic of what happens when a tip is reported to the Know2Protect Tipline.
