NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk couple has created a documentary that’s garnering a lot of attention.
Maria and Stephen Peek have made a film called “Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic.”
According to their website, “Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic” is an investigation into the world of online grooming and sextortion.
The filmmakers used the true case of a pilot stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana who was convicted on counts of enticing minors to engage in sexual activity and related child pornography counts.
The Peeks interviewed survivors and their parents. Their research also included interviews with experts including ones from the U.S. Department of Justice, Homeland Security Investigations, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Maria Peek said they set out to make a documentary about human trafficking but changed directions.
“We realized this is a much bigger problem that affects one in four American children, and we wanted to show in granular detail of popular genre of true crime how this occurs and how this can happen to any child anywhere in the U.S. starting in elementary school,” Maria explained.
Some may have not heard the term “sextortion.”
Maria said, “It’s basically blackmailing a child for an image or video of inappropriate nature, and using that image or video to extort more images from them or to extort money from them.”
Stephen Peek said the subject hits close to home.
“Maria and myself are parents to preteen and teenage girls, and they’re the most at risk group for this crime,” he said.
A free showing of “Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic” will be held on November 17 at 7 p.m. at the Chrysler Museum. It is free and open to the public, but reservations are highly recommended. Click here to reserve a spot.
The Peeks says the film can also be found through various online sites.
