A 12-year-old girl says she was coerced and threatened into sending naked pictures of herself via the Internet.

Burleigh County Sheriff Pat Heinert said the girl and her family reported the incident on Wednesday.

Heinert said a family member of the girl discovered a digital photograph of the girl and questioned her about it. She said she had been in one chatroom and was coerced into going into a different chatroom.

She said she was then threatened to send naked photographs to the person with whom she was talking, Heinert said.

The girl said she does not know who she was talking to or who received the photographs, Heinert said.

"We don't know where they went at this time," he said.

The computer will undergo forensic analysis in an effort to find out what chatroom the girl was in and the possible identity of the person with whom she was chatting, Heinert said.

Parents looking for information on how to protect their Internet-using children can find some tips by going to the sheriff's department Web site, www.burleighsd.com, and clicking on downloads, Heinert said.

- Jenny Michael