A sextortionist sent a distorted message to a South Carolina lawmaker after driving his teenage son to suicide by threatening to publish a nude photo of him.
“Did I tell you your son was begging for his life?” read the message, followed by a laughing face emoji, which was sent to South Carolina State Representative Brandon Guffey. CNN reported.
The son of Republican Rep. Gavin Guffey was the victim of sexual extortion, or “sextortion,” in which scammers posed as a girl and tricked the 17-year-old into sending a nude photo. They then demanded cash not to give it back.
Gavin had sent them everything that was in his Venmo account – $25 – and asked them to give him more time. But it wasn’t enough – and On July 27, 2022, he shot himself at his family’s home in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
His father, who won his run for the state House of Representatives six months later, briefly considered resigning but vowed to use his office to help save others. When Guffey needs a nudge, he dons Gavin’s white Vans, which have a Spider-Man scrawl scribbled on them.
“I feel like he (Gavin) wants me to try and keep more kids from ever feeling like he felt then,” he said, adding that the shoes make him feel to deal with everything.
Last month lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to criminalize the type of fraud that led to his son’s death. And on Thursday, state senators passed the law, dubbing it “Gavin’s Law.”
South Carolina State Representative Brandon Guffey (right) introduced a bill to criminalize the type of fraud that led to the death of his 17-year-old son, Gavin Guffey (center), who was the victim of sexual extortion and committed suicide on March 27 July took his life
Impersonating a girl, scammers tricked the 17-year-old into sending a nude photo and then demanded cash not to publish it. Gavin had sent them $25 – but that wasn’t enough
Minutes before Gavin shot himself in the bathroom of his home, he had texted his younger brother and some of his friends.
It was a heart shaped symbol of love –
His father said it sounded like someone had thrown a bowling ball on the ground. Heartbroken, the family tried to figure out why their son took his own life, looking for signs they had missed.
They found out that scammers had posed as a young woman and sent Gavin nude photos.
They had asked Gavin for nude photos and after he sent them to them, the scammers threatened to release them publicly if he didn’t give them money.
In the weeks following Gavin’s death, the scammers then turned their attention to Gavin’s family, sending them a series of messages on Instagram threatening to release the nude photos if they didn’t pay.
On August 20, Gavin’s birthday, the family’s scammers wrote, “Did I tell you your son was begging for his life?”
Minutes before Gavin Guffey shot himself in the bathroom of his home, he had texted his younger brother and some of his friends:
On July 27, Gavin shot himself in the bathroom of the family home in Rock Hill, South Carolina. His father said it sounded like someone had thrown a bowling ball on the ground
Almost a year later, there have been no arrests, an FBI spokesman in Columbia, South Carolina, told CNN. No further information was released.
But the memory of the tragedy stays with his family.
“I was a complete idiot, I didn’t know what to do,” Guffey said, recalling the day he found his son in the bathroom with a gun on him. “My first thought was: This is my fault – I left the gun off.”
He explained that sextortion was a lucrative crime that had attracted international scammers as well as local scammers.
“If you’re blackmailing 10 teenagers who won’t say anything for $100 each and doing it all with a picture you got of a girl, it’s pretty easy,” he said.
“And teenagers don’t necessarily think when they see that they’re getting[a girl’s]attention.”
Guffey remembers his son as a typical teenager. He loved skateboarding and art and had stickers of dinosaurs, Spider-Man and Deadpool on his car’s dashboard.
Almost a year later, there have been no arrests, an FBI spokesman in Columbia, South Carolina, told CNN. No further information was released
Guffey briefly considered stepping down his new role as South Carolina State Representative, but promised to use it to save others. When he needs a little nudge, he puts on Gavin’s white Vans
On the day of his death, Gavin was presented with a flag featuring the face of rapper Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — and the words “Don’t tread on Ye.” It now hangs in Guffey’s office.
“Gavin used to troll me all the time,” he said, laughing. “I’m a pretty conservative guy and Gavin was more of a liberal boy.” But I always encourage my kids to think for themselves and be their own person. “As long as they’re thinking, that’s the most important thing.”
In the months since Gavin’s death, Guffey’s goal has been to get sextortion scammers to “think twice before they go after kids in South Carolina.”
Under Guffey’s proposed new law, scammers who extort a minor face up to five years in prison for the first offence. The bill will soon be sent to Governor Henry McMaster for signature.
Federal officials said in a recent alert that cases of sextortion have increased over the past year and that these cases are leading to an alarming number of suicides nationwide.
“This crime begins when young people believe they are communicating with someone their own age who is interested in a relationship…” the FBI warning said.
“The shame, fear and confusion children feel when caught in this cycle often deter them from asking for help or reporting the abuse.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health issues, please call or text (or call 800-273-8255) the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to help contact a trained advisor.
What is sextortion?
Sextortion is a serious crime in which someone threatens to disseminate your private and sensitive material if you do not provide them with images of a sexual nature, sexual favors or money.
The perpetrator can also threaten to harm your friends or relatives using information obtained from your electronic devices unless you comply with their demands.
Online abusers may gain your trust by pretending to be someone they are not.
They lurk in chat rooms, recording young people posting or live streaming sexually explicit images and videos of themselves, or hacking into your electronic devices with malware to gain access to your files and control your webcam and microphone , without you noticing .
Here are some things you can do to avoid becoming a victim:
Never send compromising pictures of yourself to anyone, no matter who they are – or who they claim to be.
Don’t open attachments from people you don’t know.
Turn off electronic devices and web cameras when not in use.
If you’re receiving sextortion threats, you’re not alone.
It is likely that the perpetrator is an adult pretending to be a teenager and you are just one of many victims targeted by the same person.
Don’t be afraid to speak to an adult and call the FBI.
Help us find these criminals and stop them harming young people.
If you think you have been sextorted, or know someone who has been sextorted, call your local FBI office or the toll-free number 1-800-CALL-FBI.
