A sextortionist sent a warped message to a South Carolina legislator after driving the legislator’s teenage son to suicide by threatening to release a nude photo of him.
“Did I tell you that your son was begging for his life,” was the message, followed by a laughing emoji, sent to South Carolina State Representative Brandon Guffey. CNN reported that.
The GOP legislator’s son, 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 money not to release it.
Gavin had sent them everything in his Venmo account – $25 – and begged them to give him more time. But it was not enough – and on July 27, 2022, he shot himself at his family’s home in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
His father, who won his candidacy for State House Representative six months later, briefly considered quitting but has vowed to use his position to help save others. When Guffey needs a push, he dons Gavin’s white Vans that have a Spider-Man scribble scribbled on them.
“I feel like he (Gavin) would like me to try and stop any more kids from ever having to feel the way he felt back then,” he said, adding that the shoes make him feel like he can handle anything .
Lawmakers last month unanimously approved a state law to criminalize the kind of scam that led to his son’s death. And on Thursday, senators passed the legislation, calling it “Gavin’s law.”
South Carolina State Representative Brandon Guffey (right) introduced a state bill to criminalize the type of scam that led to the death of his son Gavin Guffey, 17, (center), who was a victim of sexual extortion and committed suicide on July 27.
Scammers posed as a girl, tricked the 17-year-old into sending a nude photo, then demanded money not to release it. Gavin had sent them $25, but it wasn’t enough
Minutes before Gavin shot himself in the bathroom of his house, 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 floor. The heartbroken family struggled to figure out why their son had committed suicide and looked for signs they had missed.
Then they found out that scammers had been posing as a young woman and sending Gavin nude photos.
They had asked Gavin for nude photos and once he sent them, the scammers threatened to release them publicly unless he gave them money.
In the weeks following Gavin’s death, the scammers turned their attention to Gavin’s family and sent a slew of messages on Instagram, threatening to release the nudes unless they paid.
On August 20, Gavin’s birthday, the scammers sent a message to the family: “Did I tell you your son begged for his life?”
Minutes before Gavin Guffey shot himself in the bathroom of his house, he had texted his younger brother and some of his friends:
On July 27, Gavin shot himself in the bathroom of the family’s home in Rock Hill, South Carolina. His father said it sounded like someone had thrown a bowling ball on the floor
Nearly a year later, no arrests have been made, an FBI spokesman in Columbia, South Carolina, told CNN. No further information has been released.
But the memory of the tragedy remains with his family.
“I was a basket case. I didn’t know what to do,” Guffey said, recalling the day he found his son in the bathroom, a gun to the . “My first thought was, This is my fault—I left the gun.”
He explained that sextortion is a lucrative crime that has attracted both international fraudsters and local scammers.
“If you can blackmail 10 teenage boys who say nothing for $100 each, and do it all with one image you got from a girl, it’s pretty easy,” he said.
“And teenage boys, when they see that they’re getting that attention[from a girl]they don’t necessarily think.”
Guffey remembers his son as a typical teenage boy. He loved skating and art, and had stickers of dinosaurs, Spider-Man and Deadpool on the dashboard of his car.
Nearly a year later, no arrests have been made, an FBI spokesman in Columbia, South Carolina, told CNN. No further information has been released
Guffey briefly considered quitting his new role as South Carolina State Representative, but has vowed to use it to help save others. When he needs a push, he slips on Gavin’s white Vans
A flag featuring the face of rapper Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — with the words “Don’t tread on Ye” on it was delivered to Gavin the day he died. It now hangs in Guffey’s office.
“Gavin would make fun of me all the time,” he said with a laugh. “I’m kind of conservative and Gavin was more of a liberal guy. But I always encourage my kids to think on their own and be their own person. As long as they think, that’s the most important thing.’
In the months since Gavin’s death, Guffey’s goal had been to make sextortion scammers “think twice before targeting kids in South Carolina.”
Under the new law proposed by Guffey, scammers who extort a minor could face up to five years in prison for a first offense. The bill will soon be sent to Governor Henry McMaster to be signed into law.
Federal officials said in a recent warning that sextortion cases have risen in the past year and the cases are contributing to an alarming suicide rate across the country.
“This crime begins when young people believe they are communicating with someone their own age who is interested in a relationship…” the FBI said in the warning.
“The shame, fear, and confusion children feel when they get caught up in this cycle often keeps them from seeking help or reporting the abuse.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health issues, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 (or call 800-273-8255) to connect with a trained counselor.