“They’re taking those photos and they’re manipulating them, creating highly sexualized sometimes pornographic content and then using it for extortion and blackmail.” Crime Stoppers CEO Rania Mankarious speaks to Lauren Talarico on KHOU 11 about how online predators are using kid and teen pictures taken from social media sites like SnapChat and Instagram and manipulating them to extort them. *What should children and parents know about sextortion? Crime Stoppers recommends victims do the following: Stop all commutations. Document everything. Do not give them money or meet any other demands. Report it to the FBI, Internet Crimes Against Children and local officials. Post on social media that this has happened to warn other contacts. Talk honestly with your kids. Watch full story here:
This is why we do what we do. On October 25, on The Roula & Ryan Morning Show on KRBE, the mother of Julian Castro called in to talk her son’s tragic death on June 6, 2022. We have been helping the Castro family since they day he was murdered to help find the senseless suspects who forced their way into his home, shooting and killing him for unknown reasons. Please take a moment to listen to her plea: https://www.facebook.com/CrimeStoppersOfHouston/videos/579518063928733 There is now an increased reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the charging and/or arrest of the suspect(s) in this case. Julian’s family and friends have been devastated by this loss. It has been nearly five months since he was killed, and the killers are still out there. We will continue to help the Castro family, and so many others, seek justice for their loved ones. Call 713-222-TIPS(8477) if you have ANY information.
The following letter from our Chairman Justin Vickrey was sent to Mr. Post on October 24, 2022: Mr. Post, After careful consideration of the baseless demand for an audit by one of the Harris County Commissioners, we are hereby ceasing further efforts to participate in this request. Crime Stoppers of Houston (CSoH) and chief assistant county auditor, Ms. Errika Perkins, of the Harris County Auditor’s Office (HCAO) mutually understood the political nature behind this request and we were assured the HCAO was an impartial party. We voluntarily and legally met all that was asked of us through the wealth of documentation CSoH provided. The last discussion we had with the HCAO was that the draft was a “work in process” and we would provide some additional documentation for a final draft. As you well know, the continuation of this charade was never able to occur due to Ms. Perkins providing an interview less than two weeks later to a Houston Chronicle reporter who has shown multiple times to have an unconscionable bias against CSoH (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/Crime-Stoppers-Harris-County-auditors-stonewalled-17438375.php). Her incredible lack of good judgement in an ongoing audit left us grimly disappointed with zero trust your office is indeed impartial as she professed […]
Every year in October, advocates around the country are busy with activities for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We are invited to speak on panels, give presentations at schools, and provide information to community members at health fairs and other events. We are asked about services for those who are being abused and how one can avoid getting into a relationship with someone who may be abusive. These are important questions that may help some survivors with safety, but they put the responsibility of solving the problem on those who have the least power to do so in the relationship. In the United States, our approach to dealing with domestic violence has largely been reactive and focused on how survivors should behave after violence has been committed against them by someone they love. For example, survivors are often told to leave their partners, call the police, or obtain a protective order, even though doing these things often actually increases their risk of being killed. Additionally, this one-size-fits-all approach does not take into account the experiences of marginalized communities in dealing with the criminal justice or child welfare systems, or the less prosecutable, but very effective, tactics of power and control such […]