“Either you give us the money or we post your sexy photos.” A 12-year-old girl who attends the first class of a middle school in Florence was threatened and blackmailed via social media by a group of bullies. To find out was her mother, who reported the incident to the postal police. It all started in October when, her mother told “La Nazione”, the very young student began to withdraw into herself, to go out less and less and spend hours and hours in the room. «It seemed a phase of adolescence – explains the woman – a negative moment perhaps accentuated by the pandemic. But the months passed and the situation did not change ».
So the mother, with the help of the girl’s father, installed a monitoring system for calls and messages on her cell phone: a world of blackmail, threats and requests for explicit photos was opened. «It was December – she says – when I saw that my daughter continually received pressing and threatening questions for her to send photos. I then understood that she was being blackmailed by a group of bullies ». At that point, faced with her mother’s questions, the girl talked about meeting three older teenagers who attend other classes at the same middle school, about afternoons together and about a relationship that soon passed from apparent friendship to threats. Finally, as the mother reported to the postal police, the three would have asked the girl to choose between three options: to sell them, send them explicit photos or pay 300 euros. Obviously, investigations are underway on these aspects. The fact is that the twelve-year-old, frightened, succumbed to blackmail, sending the photos: first one in panties, then two topless.
“At that point – continues the mother – the situation got even worse, because the three began to blackmail her, to ask her for money so as not to spread the images”. Up to convincing her to pay 200 euros with her savings. And it is at this point that the mother noticed what had happened by intercepting her messages. «Unfortunately, even after my intervention, things went on – he continues – I found myself two boys under the window; I received on Instagram the photo of my daughter with the request for money … The latest threat to her is from three days ago. You are sorry that the school was absent from all this. They haven’t given me Dad, and I still haven’t been able to speak to the principal in person, whom I will only see on Monday. On Friday I was with the postal police all morning – she concludes – whom I thank for the excellent work and availability. I also explained my intention to tell the press everything. In so many months of silence, my daughter was targeted, threatened, blackmailed. They went so far as to point a small knife to her abdomen to extort more photos or more money. Telling these facts is necessary ».
The principal of the middle school in question also intervenes on the case. “We are aware of the situation – she explains – she and we have activated the measures envisaged, separating the paths of the students and modifying the timetables. This way the kids never meet at recess or out. Unfortunately, many things happen outside school, but on our part there is the utmost willingness to work together to restore safety and tranquility to the pupil and to the family ».