AURORA, Colo. — The Aurora Police Department arrested an 18-year-old man following a nearly year-long investigation into allegations of “sextortion” involving middle and high school students.
Aurora police define sextortion as a form of exploitation where scammers blackmail children by threatening to publish an explicit image. Oftentimes, scammers will threaten to share the explicit image unless the victim pays money.
The allegations were first revealed by student journalists at Rangeview High School in January.
Jamir Deante Bright, 18, of Aurora, was arrested on Dec. 6 on two charges related to child exploitation and one charge related to criminal extortion. The three charges are felonies, according to Aurora PD.
Aurora police said Bright was released from custody on a $10,000 bond.
Investigators also identified two accomplices — a 17-year-old and a 14-year-old who both live in Denver. Aurora PD said the two juveniles face charges in Aurora Municipal Court. Since the accomplices are minors, the department is not releasing their identities.
“We identified Mr. Bright as kind of the leader of what was happening,” said Joseph Sullivan, a sergeant in APD’s Crimes Against Children unit. “What keyed him out from the juveniles is he was responsible for the actual extortion part of the crime.”
- Watch the full interview with Sullivan in the video player below:
Aurora police sergeant discusses arrest in ‘sextortion’ case involving students
On Jan. 17, the student newspaper, The Rangeview Raider Review, published an article about an Instagram account that reportedly obtained illicit photographs of students and sold the uncensored versions. The student journalists said victims had to pay the account to have their photograph removed.
“It became a big thing that was spreading throughout our school,” Ione Narajka, a then-senior who worked on the piece, told Denver7 in January. “Some Instagram accounts started popping up and sharing censored, illicit photos of high schoolers. There were about 100 in total, at least, and about a dozen of them were from Rangeview… We decided, let’s write a story about it and put [out] clarifying information. [Let’s] try and figure out how many victims there are, and potentially who’s doing this.”
Aurora PD confirmed an investigation into the alleged sextortion in January. At the time, the department said detectives had received reports from students and officials at Rangeview, Smoky Hill, Gateway, Vista Peak, Cherokee Trail and Overland high schools, as well as Aurora Hills and Mrachek middle schools.
- Watch our previous coverage in the video player below
Aurora high school student journalists reveal alleged social media sextortion
According to Aurora police at the time, in six instances, students told detectives they were contacted by the suspect(s) via Instagram. In dozens of other instances, students reported that they received unsolicited invitations to pay to join an Instagram “Close Friends List” where sexually explicit material had been posted. The Close Friends feature allows Instagram users to post private content and select who can view it.
Narajka told Denver7 that the account pushed victims to pay them in order for their photographs to be removed. From what she learned, the account also apparently offered to sell the uncensored version of photographs to other users.
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Police executed search warrants for several residences as well as a host of social media and online payment companies for data relevant to the case, Sullivan said.
Aurora PD, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Denver District Attorney’s Office partnered to investigate the claims.
Detectives filed numerous search warrants and subpoenas for online records during the nearly year-long investigation, according to Aurora police. Investigators also seized several electronic devices and searched “countless” social media profiles.
The investigation remains “active and ongoing” even after Bright’s arrest, according to Aurora police. Anyone with information is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous and could earn a reward of up to $2,000.
