The grieving parents of a 15-year-old boy have revealed how he died by suicide hours after falling victim to sextortion scammers.
According to tragic reports, Bryce Tate was found dead at his family home in West Virginia on November 6, the same day he had been tricked into sending nude photos to what he thought was a 17-year-old girl.
Sextortion is defined as the practice of extorting money or sexual favors from an individual by threatening to publicly expose evidence of their sexual activity. It’s become an increasingly prevalent crime in the modern age of technology, with scammers using social media to target and then essentially blackmail their victims.
In the case of Bryce Tate, they led him to believe he was sending photos to a teenage girl – only to threaten to release said images if he didn’t send them money.
“They shamed him relentlessly, convincing him that this one mistake had ruined his life forever,” his dad Adam Tate said in a Facebook post.
“Bryce, feeling trapped with no way out and believing his world was destroyed, was manipulated into taking his own life.”
Adam revealed that his son had been warned the nude images would be leaked to friends and family if he didn’t send the scammers $500.
“My son had 30 freaking dollars and he’s like, ‘Sir, I’ll give you my last $30′,” Adam told the New York Post. “And these cowards wouldn’t take it.”
Three hours after he had received a message from an unknown number, Bryce was found dead at 7.10pm on November 6.
Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) determined Bryce had been “targeted in an online sextortion scheme” after finding a disturbing message exchange between the teenager and his scammers.
The FBI website warns of predators who prey upon people by posing as individuals of a similar age before ‘coercing victims into taking and sending sexually explicit photos and videos’.
They then ‘immediately demand payment or threaten to release the photo to the victim’s family and friend’. The majority of victims are teenage boys aged between 14 and 17.
Explaining how the scammers were able to trick Bryce into believing he was communicating with a 17-year-old girl, dad Adam said: “They knew which gym he worked out at, they knew a couple of his best friends and name-dropped them.
“They knew he played basketball for Nitro High School. They built his trust to where he believed that this was truly somebody in this area.”
During their investigation, police found that Bryce’s manipulators had messaged him 120 times in the 20 minutes before the teen took his own life.
“They say it’s suicide, but in my book it is 100 percent murder,” Adam said. “They’re godless demons, in my opinion. Just cowards, awful individuals, worse than criminals.”
Sgt. Jeremy Burns, with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, issued a warning to teens regarding the parameters they apply to their social media accounts.
“Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok, make sure it’s set so that you have to authorise who follows you,” he added. “Don’t leave it [public].
“Don’t ever send any sexual pictures. Just don’t do it. Don’t send photos to anybody you don’t know.”
Rest in peace, Bryce Tate.
READ MORE
- Trump promised $2,000 to almost everyone in America – will it arrive before end of 2025?
- Family released update on baby delivered after doctors kept brain-dead woman alive
