SAN JOSE, Calif. — A new national public safety alert from the FBI and partnering agencies was published on Monday, warning thousands of children and teens are being targeted in financial “sextortion” cases.
Officials said at least 3,000 minors, mostly boys, have been victimized so far this year. They said predators use social media to start communicating with a targeted minors, who are primarily boys between the ages of 14 and 17 and sometimes younger.
Victims are tricked into providing explicit photos and the perpetrators will then demand money and threaten to release the images to their family members and friends.
According to the Justice Department, at least a dozen victims have taken their own lives as a result of these crimes.
On the same day of the report, San Jose police announced the arrest of a Reseda man they believe is tied to a case in Northern California that ended in a 17-year-old San Jose boy dying by suicide.
The arrest of Jonathan Kassi, 25, highlights the anonymity of this cybercrime.
ABC7 News, our sister station in San Francisco, decided to share the image of the suspect because police are looking for additional victims.
“Pauline, does this arrest, at all, bring any type of closure to your family?” ABC7 News reporter Amanda del Castillo asked.
“No,” Pauline Stuart answered. “I’m very beyond grateful that it happened, but deep down, I would rather have my son.”
Her son, 17-year-old Ryan Last, believed the person he was messaging with earlier this year was a…
