A Texas man who allegedly tried to extort money from a Naperville teen who sent him explicit photos of himself has been arrested on a “sextortion” charge, Naperville police said.
Cody D. Ratliff, 39, is accused of posing as a teenage girl when he requested the victim send him the photographs, according to a police department news release. Once received, Ratliff allegedly requested the teen send him electronic payments in exchange for not making the images public, the release said.
“In the 2023 case, Naperville detectives learned that after receiving the explicit photos from the teen, the offender allegedly located the victim’s friends and family on social media and threatened to send them the photos,” the release said. “The juvenile paid the suspect, who allegedly demanded further payments.”
Investigators were able to identify the suspect and arrested Ratliff in Texas on Feb. 9 on a warrant charging him with felony intimidation. He was transported to Illinois and is being held in the DuPage County jail.
“This is called sextortion, and it’s a growing problem in our society that every family should be aware of,” Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said.
“Twenty-seven incidents of sextortion have been reported to our department in the last two years, with nearly half of the victims being juveniles. … Victims often comply with the offender’s demands for money or more pictures because they’re scared or embarrassed. They try to make the problem go away, but compliance rarely ends the victimization.”
Anyone in a similar situation is urged to call 630-4250-6666 so they can receive police help.
