The Mississippi father of a teen boy who ended his own life due to online "sextortion," publicly cautioned parents to be aware of their children's social media usage, as the national discussion on cyber security becomes a prominent topic.
Brian Montgomery experienced a terrible loss when his son Walker, aged 16, committed suicide due to being blackmailed with explicit images.
On "America's Newsroom," Montgomery appeared to discuss the tragedy and explore how parents can take action to protect their children.
Montgomery warned Dana Perino, "Don't allow your children by themselves in a bedroom, in a bathroom, anywhere with these phones without supervision, because they're not capable of understanding the dangers that are on the other side of it. As a parent, that's something that I have to live with as a regret because Walker obviously had access to his cell phone in his room by himself, and that's a reality."
He continued, "I'm telling that just because I want other parents to heed that warning, because it's something you can do today to guard yourself against this.
The FBI reported that Montgomery asserted Walker had been subjected to threats from Nigeria, despite the hearsay that it had been local.
It was reported that his teenage son was sent a message from a supposedly "attractive" young girl's Instagram account, which claimed to have a connection with the boy. The message attempted to draw him into a conversation.
Walker eventually initiated a video conversation with the perpetrators, who recorded him taking part in sexual acts. Subsequently, they asked him for $1,000 and threatened to release the images if he didn't pay.
"The information we collected shows that the pressure Walker was under was unbearable to the point that during this exchange, Walker finally tells them, 'hey, I'm going to commit suicide, I'm going to kill myself,' and they respond with, 'go ahead, because you're already dead,' and as a parent, obviously, you hear that, and it's heartbreaking."
He went on to say, "But I want people to understand the evil that is out there in the world that is after our kids."
Montgomery contended that the increasing prevalence of this issue is not just an issue of parental guidance, but also asserted that technology firms should be responsible for keeping children safe while online.
"There's a lot of criminal activity that originated within social media and our tech companies have the ability to filter and censor, especially for minors, and they're not investing in those technologies as aggressively as they are something they can sell."
He stated that his son Walker was a typical child who loved his family, the outdoors, and football.
"We have no question about where Walker's at," Montgomery said. "We're Christians. Walker's in heaven with Christ waiting on us We're 100% confident in that, no question.
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