State Attorney Melissa Nelson, right, joins reps from the Jacksonville Jaguars and Here Tomorrow to announce the sextortion crisis hotline. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on November 10, 2026 at 2:43 pm
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Sextortion crisis support is now just a phone call away in Northeast Florida, as part of the local State Attorney’s Office’s year-old Sextortion Initiative.
The FBI defines sextortion as when someone threatens to distribute a person’s private and sensitive material if that person does not give them images of a sexual nature, sexual favors, or money.
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The (904) 222-6988 hotline, which is also a suicide prevention hotline run by the Neptune Beach-based nonprofit Here Tomorrow, now will offer specific support to those who might be contemplating self-harm as a result of being extorted online.
Stephen Gavin, the State Attorney’s Office’s Sextortion Initiative expert, says the additional support was added amid research showing how quickly a child who learns they are being sextorted can begin considering self harm.
He says the hotline and a corresponding online resource page that offers text support are crucial new tools in “making sure that we are keeping these kids alive.”
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“This is believed to be a vastly underreported crime as well,” Gavin says. “So having something in place that when people are searching and say, ‘OK, this happened to me. What do I do? How can I find help?’ this is having something concrete that they can land on. It’s not just a webpage; they are not just putting in a report. They are connecting with a real live human who has actual resources that can help them see their way through this.”
The Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday announced a $10,000 donation to help fund Here Tomorrow’s crisis line. State Attorney Melissa Nelson said that gift will help keep it staffed with people who can help a victim with emotional counseling and connect them with those who can prosecute their sextorters.
“Someone using a fake identity persuades a young person to send an explicit photo, then says, ‘Pay me or I’ll send this photo to your friends, your family, your coaches,'” Nelson said. “For a teenager facing those threats, the fear and humiliation can certainly be overwhelming, understandably. They may be afraid to tell their parents, unsure where to turn, and are convinced that their future is ruined.”
During Tuesday’s news conference announcing the hotline support, officials said the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received about 137 reports of financial sextortion a day in 2025 (a 30% rise from the year before), and at least three dozen teenage boys took their lives as a result of being sextorted.
In 2025, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center received 4,604 sextortion complaints nationwide, 623 of those from victims under 20 who together suffered over $55,000 in extortion demands.
Seeing the damage that sextortion was causing, the State Attorney’s Office formed its Sextortion Initiative to combine law enforcement, experts, and nonprofits to tackle this rising issue.
Here Tomorrow reports it’s helped more than 5,000 people in crisis and their families since its founding in 2021.
“By us launching the sextortion webpage as well as the (904) 222-6988 hotline, we will have resources as well as a soft landing page to be able to connect the teens and their parents to the appropriate law enforcement resources,” Here Tomorrow President and CEO Terrie Andrews said. “Thank you again for this wonderful partnership.”
The Jaguars are proud to donate to Here Tomorrow, Jaguars Chief Community Impact Officer Whitney Meyer said on Tuesday.
“We believe that access to support and compassionate listening and resources can make a life changing difference,” Meyer said. “Organizations like Here Tomorrow help ensure that people do not have to navigate difficult moments alone.”
Here Tomorrow’s signage with the crisis hotline phone number will be displayed throughout EverBank Stadium.
