Man Threatened To Leak Explicit Photos, Demanded Money From Teen: Naperville Police

NAPERVILLE, IL — Naperville police recently arrested a man from Texas who threatened to release explicit photos of an Illinois teen to the boy's family and friends unless the teen sent the man money, according to authorities.

Cody D. Ratliff, 39, of Kerrville, Texas, was arrested Feb. 9, police said. He was transported to Illinois and is charged with felony intimidation, according to police.

In February 2023, a Naperville teen told police that he had sent explicit photos of himself online to a person claiming to be a 16-year-old girl and that person then threatened to show the pictures to the boy’s friends and family unless the teen provided electronic payments, authorities said.

“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 in a news release. “Twenty-seven incidents of sextortion have been reported to our department in the last two years, with nearly half of the victims being juveniles.”

In the Ratliff case, the boy paid the man, but the man continued to demand money, according to police.

“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,” Arres said in the news release. “Report it, and we will do everything we can to hold individuals accountable and prevent them from victimizing others, just like we did in this case.”

Anyone in a similar situation is encouraged to contact police at 630-420-6666, according to authorities. Additional information and resources are available online through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the FBI. The nonprofit Childhelp also recently released free lesson plans and resources to help parents, schools and community groups protect youth from online exploitation.