The family of a Michigan teenager who died by suicide in March of 2022 is speaking out about the dangers of social media “sextortion.”
Jordan DeMay, 17, killed himself after a Nigerian man posing as a woman solicited nude photos from the teen and allegedly threatened to share them online if he didn’t receive $1,000. The suspect — 22-year-old Samuel Ogoshi of Lagos, Nigeria — was one of three suspects arrested earlier this month for allegedly hacking Instagram accounts to sexually extort victims like DeMay, Fox News reported.
“My son was smart. He was a good student. He was a great athlete,” Jordan’s father, John DeMay, told Fox News. “Someone came to his bedroom at 3 in the morning and murdered him through Instagram when we were all sleeping at night, and we had zero chance to stop it.”
DeMay, a senior who played football at Marquette Senior High School in Michigan’s upper peninsula, began chatting with someone on Instagram who he thought was a woman. While the account was real, it was allegedly hacked by Ogoshi and used to extort young men and boys into sending nude photos of themselves. DeMay sent an explicit photo of himself to the account, and Ogoshi used the images as leverage to demand money, according to the FBI.
“All you’ve to do is cooperate with me and I won’t expose you,” a message to DeMay said.
“I can send this nudes [sic] to everyone and also send your nudes Until it goes viral,” Ogoshi reportedly wrote. “Just pay me rn [right now], and I won’t expose you.”
The extortioner requested $1,000, and DeMay sent him $300, but Ogoshi allegedly threatened to send the photo to DeMay’s family if he didn’t send him more money. DeMay then told Ogoshi he was going to kill himself.
“Good. Do that fast. Or I’ll make you do it. I swear to God,” Ogoshi allegedly replied.
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Ogoshi was charged by federal authorities with four counts, including attempted sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death and conspiracy to sexually exploit minors by causing the minors to produce child pornographic images, NBC TV6 reported. Ogoshi faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a statutory mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison.
“Sextortion is a horrible crime that can leave especially younger victims feeling ashamed with nowhere to turn,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “My heart goes out to the family of Jordan DeMay. Nothing can bring Jordan back, but my office is committed to securing justice and, alongside Jordan’s family, sending an urgent warning so others can protect themselves and their families. We will travel the world to hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable.”
DeMay’s father John said that he stopped monitoring Jordan’s social media use as much as he used to because the teen was almost an adult.
“Jordan is such a rare case. I mean, he was a few weeks away from being 18 years old,” John said. “We didn’t, I didn’t monitor social media anymore.”
John added if he had the chance, he would tell Jordan “every single day” that sexual extortion isn’t the end of life.
“[Kids] have to just understand that this isn’t the end of whatever they think is their life, because it’s not,” John said.
The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a free hotline for individuals in crisis or distress or for those looking to help someone else. It is available 24/7 by dialing 988.
