Seeking social media stardom for their underage daughters, mothers post images of them on Instagram. The accounts draw men sexually attracted to children, and they sometimes pay to see more.
Men in these groups frequently praise the advent of Instagram as a golden age for child exploitation.
“I’m so glad for these new moms pimping their daughters out,” wrote one of them. “And there’s an infinite supply of it — literally just refresh your Instagram Explore page there’s fresh preteens.”
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Several mothers who had been identified [as having produced explicit imagery of their daughters] by the tipster said they reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which, they said, had conducted an investigation. The F.B.I. declined to comment.
Ultimately, the gymnast’s mother said, a federal agent told them to stop talking to men online.
“They told everyone to get off Instagram,” she said. “‘You’re in over your head. Get off.’ That’s what they told us.”
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“She got slaughtered all through primary school,” said Kaelyn, the mother in Melbourne. “Children were telling her, ‘We can’t play with you because my mom said too many perverts follow you on the internet.’”
Ew ew ew.
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