Wheeling Park High School football player Brennan Wack, left, and Wheeling Central boys basketball player Eli Sancomb appear in a video warning other young men about the dangers of sextortion. (Video screenshot)

WHEELING – Research shows male high school students are most often the online target of those seeking their images to use in “sextortion” attempts.

Two celebrated athletes from different high schools have been teamed together for a video produced by Ohio County Schools seeking to warn youth of the dangers of sending their images to anyone online.

Those in the video are Wheeling Park High School football standout Brennan Wack, and Wheeling Central Catholic basketball standout Eli Sancomb.

An upcoming forum to discuss sextortion is being planned for male students at WPHS, and boys from Central also will be invited to attend, said Ohio County Schools Superintendent Rick Jones.

“Sextortion” most often occurs when a teen responds to an online request to expose parts of their body on a webcam, or sends a nude photo to someone they’ve only just met online.

After this, the new “friend” threatens to expose them by publicizing the photos unless they pose for more explicit photos or send money.

There are also instances when an everyday photo or video of a youth is manipulated to place them in a compromising situation. Again, the online predator tells the victim they will make the images public if they don’t pay or perform sexual acts.

Ohio County Schools is still working on informational videos and materials to educate students about sextortion, and there are more plans on the topic as the year moves forward, according to Jones.

The recent video was shot on the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.

“We wanted to reach as many kids and families in Ohio County who might recognize a couple of students,” Jones said.

“As I told those two kids … no matter who you root for, everybody roots for Eli. Everybody roots for Brennan Wack. Those two didn’t even know each other, and they talked (Monday).”

Jones reported they wished each other luck, and spoke of their recruiting experiences. Wack, the two-time Curt Warner Award winner as West Virginia’s top high school running back, has committed to play football at Yale. Sancomb, last season’s state basketball player of the year, has committed to play basketball at Liberty. Both were extremely nervous when recording the video, Jones said.

“We’re hoping as we share this out to social media a lot of kids and their families will pick up on it because of the status of these two in the community right now,” he said.

The video will be one in a series of educational videos warning of sextortion the school district has planned.

Karin Butyn, communications director for Ohio County Schools, explained the videos are in short-form and can be viewed on the school district’s social media platforms.