SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. ( WBRC ) - Law enforcement agencies in Shelby County are warning families about a rise in sextortion cases targeting local teens - especially middle and high school-aged boys.

So far, eight cases have been reported in unincorporated Shelby County alone. That number doesn’t include cases reported to local municipal police departments, meaning the real total is likely much higher.

“I think there’s a lot of these cases that go unreported,” said Lt. Shane Plyer, Executive Director of Compact Shelby County. “It can be a very embarrassing situation for kids to have to tell their parents that they sent an explicit image of themselves to a stranger online.”

Officers say sextortion often begins with someone posing as a young female on social media or in gaming forums. The p

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