ASHLAND — The Ashland Police Division has reported an increase in online child sex crimes, particularly peer-to-peer production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Detective Lieutenant Aaron Kline said there has been a recent uptick in peer-to-peer CSAM cases, and the division wants to get ahead of the problem before it gets worse.
“The local problem is high school and middle school kids. They all talk to each other and there’s always going to be somebody asking for photos, and it starts with innocent photos,” Detective Sergeant Brian Kunzen said.
“We’ve noticed, definitely, it’s getting younger and it’s sad,” Kline said.
What exactly is peer-to-peer CSAM? Most commonly, a minor sending or exchanging nude photos and videos to another minor.
“It’s hard to explain to them: ‘you’re manufacturing child pornography. I know you’re just looking at it like, it’s me, it’s my body, I’m sending my photos,’ but when you are a child, you are manufacturing child pornography and they (The Ashland County Juvenile Court) will charge them,” Kunzen said.
“It’s hard to explain to them: ‘you’re manufacturing child pornography. I know you’re just looking at it like, it’s me, it’s my body, I’m sending my photos,’ but when you are a child, you are manufacturing child pornography and they (The Ashland County Juvenile Court) will charge them.”
Kunzen
The detectives see the activity primarily on Snapchat and video-chatting platforms, such as Omegle and OmeTV. But Discord, WhatsApp and even Reddit can spark the exchange of phone numbers and social media accounts, Kline said.
Detective Kara Pearce recommends parents prohibit their kids from accessing Roblox, as the gaming platform allows for chat features where kids can exchange information with strangers. Roblox can be accessed via app or a web browser.
Kunzen is tasked with going through a child’s phone if a parent brings the case to the police and allows them to access the phone. Not only does Kunzen see activity on the phone, but even some deleted content, including messages and photos.
He has seen the same names and faces pop up multiple times, which often come as a result of sextortion— when someone is threatened or blackmailed into providing more sexual imagery.
Sextortion has become a national trend, according to Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Commander Dave Frattare.
“Sextortion and sadistic online groups all stem from conversations that kids are having with people they don’t know,” Frattare said.
How can parents prevent these crimes?
Kunzen emphasized the importance of open communication between parents and children. He said parents should always know what apps are on a child’s phone, authorize the downloading of apps and have conversations about online safety.
“I would encourage zero privacy on a phone,” Kunzen said, “I know that’s unfortunate to say, but you got to have some sort of monitoring on the phone.”
Phone monitoring apps, such as OurPact, which was recommended by a detective, can prohibit certain apps on phones, track locations, monitor phone activity in real-time and filter online content.
“Parents need to be aware that they cannot truly disconnect their child from the internet if they have a phone,” Kunzen said.
Kline said parents should emphasize that sending any illicit photos as a minor is a crime, and can land them with charges in juvenile court.
“At the end of the day, those pictures are still out there. It’s not like you can take those pictures back. I can’t drive that home enough,” Kline said.
Ashland City Schools help with prevention
But parents aren’t combatting prevention alone: Ashland City Schools has been making strides to implement education on online safety for all grade levels.
In 2023, Jesse Weinberger — a school internet safety presenter — presented her program on digital safety to fourth-12th grade students and parents.
“Project Pavise was born out of these presentations,” Superintendent Steve Paramore said in an email.
Project Pavise was developed in 2024 Curriculum Director Ben Spieldenner and School Board Member John Teevan to promote internet safety and well-being for fifth- and sixth-graders.
Students received boxes with stickers, a t-shirt, and a pair of journals for a parent and their child. The journals were designed to facilitate conversation between children and their parents, according to an article by the Ashland County Community Foundation — one of the project’s sponsors.
The students also received weekly videos and daily texts to reinforce journal content, and parents were advised on tips to be involved in digital safety, such as retraining their child’s suggested viewing in YouTube and similar apps.
Ashland school-based liaisons and representatives from Safe Haven also provide instruction on positive relationships for grades k-12 “in a manner that fits their maturation level,” Paramore said.
Kline said the department’s next step in prevention might include working with school resource officers to incorporate programs or presentations about CSAM.