STORY UPDATE:
On May 30, 2025 a motion to dismiss the case was approved by a McLennan County Judge, citing insufficient evidence. In the order obtained by 25 News, Ryan Calvert with the McLennan Co. District Attorney’s Office writes: “Subsequent investigation revealed that the defendant, Kyle Joseph Nielsen, is not the perpetrator. Investigators initially linked an IP address used by the perpetrator to the defendant. Subsequent investigation revealed that link was made in error.”
EDITORIAL NOTE:
The now-dismissed case against Nielsen is not related in any way to the death of James Woods in Ohio. The below story from February 2024 is part of a broader discussion about the issue of sextortion.
McLennan Co. deputies apprehended a man accused of exploiting a minor and threatening a school.
30-year-old Kyle Nielsen was extradited from the state of Utah to the McLennan County jail.
He’s accused of making threats on Snapchat against a school threatening violence and attempting to sextort a minor.
McLennan County Sheriff, Parnell McNamara, said, “We contacted Utah, got a warrant, knocked down his door, and he was put in jail within 24 hours.”
25 News first told you about sextortion a few weeks ago when the FBI put out a warning about financial sextortion where scammers convince minors to send them nude photos and threaten to post them online if they don’t send money.
McLennan County has a special unit called the Criminal Intel Unit which tracks down internet criminals.
Sheriff McNamara said, “It’s amazing. So proud of them. When we set up Criminal Intel up a few years ago and we have best people working computers and tracking down people all the time.”
Sextortion is a big problem across the United States.
Seventeen-year-old track star James Woods took his own life when someone tried to use explicit pictures to extort him.
James Woods' parents said, “We have good days and bad days. Waking up and not having someone there is the really hard part.”
The Woods family is using James’ story to raise awareness about sextortion to prevent what happened to their son from happening to others.
His parents said, “We don’t want anyone to suffer like we have. We’re giving them the courage now.”
As for Nielsen, he’s facing terroristic threats, a third degree felony, and could face more charges for the exploitation of a minor.
Sheriff McNamara reminds parents to tell teenagers not to post compromising pictures online, and he has a message for predators.
“Standby, we’re going to be kicking in your door. Plain and simple.”
