[Update] Received a call from law enforcement that my teenage son was being sextorted on Snapchat, looking for advice for the conversation with the detective

Location: Ohio USA

Original post,

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/s/VpdkbcyUo5

Thanks for everyone who gave advice on the original post. After speaking with my son (15m) he was definitely embarrassed about the situation. I wanted to make sure he had the autonomy to decide whether he wanted to pursue this or not. The detective and I spoke in the morning yesterday and he said it was entirely up to us if we wanted to proceed, and that if he wasn’t comfortable talking about it, he would just close the case. My son decided he wanted to try to help catch the scammer in the hopes that it wouldn’t happen to someone else. Without going into too much detail, the messages were just heartbreaking for me to hear. The scammer preyed on my son, who is a typical 15 y/o with a lot of insecurities. The scammer terrified him, was giving him a countdown to buy the gift cards. I’m very proud of my son for reporting this. Under no circumstances was he ever going to face any legal action, they only ever saw him as a victim. I also found out this is the TENTH case of this in my small town alone. I implore all parents to talk to their children about sextortion. It is happening all over and there is nothing for them to be ashamed about. Adult predators know what to say and do to trap these children. The detective did say that it’s almost always impossible to prosecute these cases, but he will never stop trying.
So, thanks again for all the legal advice, I was glad we had an attorney to protect our sons best interests. He is being supported by his counselor at school as he did not want anyone additional to know what happened.