POTSDAM â Nearly every school in St. Lawrence County is scheduled to have state police give presentations to students about online safety.
The families of Riley K. Basford, Shylynn M. Dixon and Evan T. McDaniel have all played a significant role in increasing the number of safety presentations given across the county by state police. Each family had acutely similar stories about how their teenage loved one died of suicide after suffering blackmail and sextortion online.
Trooper Jennifer V. Fleishman said presenters include investigators from their computer crime unit and herself. Theyâve done them for years, and she said thereâs âfor sureâ been a spike in scheduling ever since the Basford family first told Rileyâs story.