FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office issued a news release Friday warning about what it called a disturbing social media report seen on the TikTok application.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the video claims to declare April 24 as “National Rape Day” or “National Sexual Assault Day.” FCSO said its Domestic Homeland Security unit is investigating.
“The claim is that a group on TikTok plan to commit sexual assaults on April 24th and are encouraging others to do the same, claiming there will be no recourse,” the Sheriff’s Office writes.
The news release states that millions of social media users have reacted or shared reactions on TikTok as well as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
“These things are not things to joke around with,” said Brittany Kershaw, with the Sheriff’s Office. “These are serious and there are a lot of victims out there and this could be triggering for them.”
News4Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson said it’s something parents should speak with their children about.
“Parents need to remind their children that any and every sort of thing comes up on social media,” Jefferson said. “They can’t be consumed with it and it would good to have their children to get off of social media here and there.”
TikTok was questioned about the videos by Newsweek. TikTok issued a statement that reads: “While we have not found evidence on our platform of any videos related to this subject, our safety team is remaining vigilant and we will remove content that violates our policies.”