Naperville Police arrested a male Texas resident on Sunday, February 9, 2025, following a lengthy investigation into the online exploitation of a Naperville teen.
In February 2023, a male juvenile reported to Naperville Police that he had sent explicit photos of himself online to someone purporting to be a 16-year-old female, who then threatened to release the photos publicly unless he sent the suspect electronic payments.
“This is called sextortion, and it’s a growing problem in our society that every family should be aware of. Twenty-seven incidents of sextortion have been reported to our department in the last two years, with nearly half of the victims being juveniles. Parents, please talk to your children about their activity online and help them protect them from criminals and sexual predators who use the anonymity of the internet to prey on their victims.”
— Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres
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 juvenile paid the suspect, who allegedly demanded further payments.
Naperville police did not indicate how the how the suspect initially enticed the victim.
The investigation led detectives to Cody D. Ratliff, 39, of Kerrville, Texas, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was transported to Illinois, processed at the Naperville Police Department and later transported to the DuPage County Jail. He is charged with intimidation, a Class 3 felony.
“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. “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.”
The Naperville Police Department would like to encourage anyone in a similar situation to contact the police department at (630) 4250-6666. Additional information and resources for teens and parents are available online through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The non-profit organization Childhelp also recently released free lesson plans and resources to help parents, schools, and community groups protect youth from online exploitation. This curriculum was developed with input and resources from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Department of Homeland Security, Meta, Thorn, and other leading child safety partners.
The Naperville Police wish to remind the public and the news media that a charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
— Naperville Police Department
^^ MOBILE? USE VOICE MIC ^^
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