15-year-old Bryce Tate from Cross Lanes, West Virginia, took his own life in November just three hours after receiving threatening messages from a malicious scammer. The case highlights highlights the growing threat of online “sextortion,” in which scammers convince teenagers to share illicit photos then demand money to not go public.
reports that the afternoon of November 6 started off like any other for Bryce Tate, a sophomore at Nitro High School. After returning home from the gym and enjoying a snack, Bryce stepped outside to shoot some hoops. At 4:37 p.m., he received a text message from an unknown number — a message that would set in motion a tragic chain of events.
Three hours later, Bryce was found dead in his home, having taken his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His devastated father, Adam Tate, believes that his son was the victim of a ruthless sextortion scheme targeting teenage boys. “They say it’s suicide, but in my book, it is 100% murder,” Adam told the Post. “They’re godless demons, in my opinion. Just cowards, awful individuals, worse than criminals.”
Sextortion schemes involve online scammers meticulously studying public social media profiles to gather information about their targets, then pose as flirtatious peers to gain the victim’s trust. The scammers use stolen or AI-generated images to trick the target into sending their own intimate photos, then threaten to embarass the target in public if they don’t continue sexual contact or pay sums of money. Sextortion schemes have become increasingly prevalent in recent years, with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reporting over 33,000 cases in 2024 alone, and nearly the same number in the first six months of this year.
In Bryce’s case, the scammer posed as a local 17-year-old girl, demonstrating knowledge of Bryce’s gym, best friends, and his involvement in basketball at Nitro High School. Once trust was established, the scammer requested illicit photos and, upon receiving them, demanded $500 from Bryce, threatening to share the photos with his family and friends if he failed to comply.
Despite Bryce’s desperate plea and offer of his last $30, the scammers refused to relent. In the final 20 minutes of his life, Bryce received an onslaught of 120 messages, a tactic designed to keep the victim engaged and overwhelmed. The extortionists even went so far as to encourage Bryce to take his own life, claiming that his life was already over.
Tragically, Bryce’s story is not an isolated incident. Several other teenage boys, including 16-year-old Walker Montgomery, 16-year-old Waylon Scheffer, 17-year-old Ryan Last, and 17-year-old Jordan DeMay, have fallen victim to similar sextortion schemes in recent years, with some cases linked to international crime rings like the notorious “764” group.
Breitbart News previously reported on the 764 group as the FBI investigates an increasing number of cases linked to the criminal organization:
The predators in 764 demand their victims share images and videos of the behavior so they can share it with other 764 followers. They also use the content for extortion.
“Some of the predators even host ‘watch parties’ for others to watch them torment victims live online, according to authorities,” the article said. Per ABC 7, investigators said the darker and more violent the images or videos a member can coerce a minor to produce helps them climb the ladder of standing in the network.
In April, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that two leaders of the group were arrested and charged for operating an international child exploitation enterprise.
Adam Tate, determined to prevent other families from experiencing the same heartbreak, is advocating for “Bryce’s Law,” an amendment to a proposed cyberbullying bill in West Virginia that would impose harsher penalties for crimes leading to self-harm or suicide. He emphasizes the importance of open communication and awareness, stating, “You cannot find a closer family than me, my wife, and my son. But I just want people to know that having that safe space and that close family is not enough. They have to be aware of what the threat is. You have to have that conversation.”
Read more at the New York Post here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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