WHEN Jennifer Buta’s son sent her a message in the early hours, she thought he was just up late playing video games.
“Mother, I love you”, it read.
But when she didn’t hear anything else from Jordan, 17, while he was visiting his dad, John, she began to worry.
Then John called her and delivered devastating news – Jordan had died after taking his own life.
With no history of depression, Jennifer couldn’t make sense of why – Jordan was doing well in school and had a great group of friends and a girlfriend.
On the fateful day in March 2022, she’d seen him only hours before and he’d seemed happy.
It was only later that Jennifer discovered that Jordan had been a victim of a sickening sextortion scam.
He was contacted by the scammers on Instagram posing as a pretty girl his age and flirting with him, eventually sending sexual pictures to coax him into sharing explicit photos of himself.
They then blackmailed him for hundreds of pounds to stop them sharing the pictures online to his friends. Just six hours later, he was dead.
Jennifer, 44, who lives in Michigan, says, “Jordan’s late-night text message had been a final goodbye.
“Now I am determined to raise awareness to stop other parents from going through this heartbreak.
“Sextortion needs to be talked about in schools; we need to be educating our kids about it and parents should be having those difficult conversations.”
A growing number of people are being targeted with sextortion – a form of online blackmail where criminals trick victims into sharing sexual images or videos of themselves and then use those images to threaten or extort, often demanding money or more explicit material.
Jordan’s girlfriend, Kyla, explained something strange had happened the night Jordan died – an Instagram account with the name ‘Dani Roberts’ had messaged her.
Jennifer explains, “She didn’t know who they were, but they followed a few of their school friends.
“She told me how they’d sent her an explicit image of Jordan and tried to threaten her with it.”
Young people like Jordan aged between 15 & 17, and adults aged under 30, are often most at risk.
A Sun Investigation into the evil world of so-called Yahoo Boys, revealed how they were targeting young Brits.
In England and Wales alone there were at least 21,323 recorded offences in the last decade – 18,000 since the pandemic – that included a reference to the word sextortion.
The crimes are often carried out by organised groups abroad, operating from call centres or even using paid actors to pose as someone the victim may be romantically interested in.
The UK’s National Crime Agency is currently campaigning to raise awareness of this growing threat, with an average of 117 reports from under-18s per month.
Between April and December 2024, Childline delivered over 500 counselling sessions about sexual extortion.
They have now created an online tool, Report Remove, which helps young people to confidentially report nude images and get them removed from the internet.
Darren Worth, Service Head at Childline, says, “We want all young people to know that falling victim to ‘sextortion’ isn’t their fault, and seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
“No child should have to cope with a problem like this alone.”
‘I’ve just found Jordan’
Jennifer is still coming to terms with the loss of her son.
She says, “Jordan was staying with his dad and when I messaged him the morning after he’d sent that text, I became concerned when he didn’t respond.
“Then John called and said, ‘I’ve just found Jordan in his bedroom. I’m so sorry, he’s gone.’ I froze in shock, my whole body went numb.”
It was after Jordan’s girlfriend explained that she had also received the message that Jennifer began piecing what had happened together.
Sure the two were linked she contacted the police.
It was only once Instagram handed over his messages from that fateful night that the full picture became clear.
At around 10pm, ‘Dani Roberts’ had begun messaging and flirting with Jordan.
Within a few hours, she’d convinced him to send her an explicit picture but, as soon as it was received, her tone changed and a message was sent to Jordan saying, “I have a screenshot [for] all of your followers and can send this picture to all of your family and friends until it goes viral.
I live with the grief of losing my son every day, and only wish he’d come to me or his dad about what happened
Jennifer Buta
“All you have to do is cooperate and I won’t expose you. Just pay me £1,000.”
Eventually, Jordan paid £300, everything he’d saved from his job at McDonald’s.
He also sent a message saying, “I’m going to kill myself because of you” and ‘Dani’ had replied, “Good. Do that fast – or I’ll make you do it.”
Jennifer says, “I can’t imagine how frightened Jordan was that night.
“This crime preys on young adults who are vulnerable, and the overwhelming shame and embarrassment that comes with it.”
Police tracked down the people behind the messages – Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and his brother, Samson Ogoshi, 21, both from Lagos, Nigeria and that Jordan had never met– and in September 2024, they were extradited for trial and pleaded guilty to conspiring to sexually exploit teenage boys.
The pair were sentenced to 17 years and six months in jail.
What is Sextortion?
‘Sextortion’ is a type of online blackmail. It’s when criminals threaten to share sexual pictures, videos, or information about you unless you pay money or do something else you don’t want to.
Anyone can be a victim of sextortion. However, young people aged between 15 to 17, and adults aged under 30, are often most at risk.
Criminals often target people through dating apps, social media, webcams, or pornography sites. They may use a fake identity to befriend you online. If a person you’ve just met online chats to you in a sexual way, or asks for sexual images, it might be an attempt at sextortion.
You should be wary if someone you’ve met online:
- is trying to start a relationship with you very quickly (they may even send you a sexual image first)
- chats to you in a sexual way, or asks for sexual images, soon after you’ve met them.
- has sent friend requests to lots of people, not just you
- repeatedly asks you to do sexual things that you’re not comfortable with
- tells you they’ve hacked your account or have access to your contacts
Sextortion attempts can happen very quickly, or they can happen over a long time. You should never share sexual images or information about yourself if you are not comfortable.
You can still be a victim of sextortion if you haven’t shared sexual images or information. Criminals may have hacked one of your accounts, or created edited or fake images or videos, like deepfakes, of you that appear real.
Even if blackmail isn’t involved, sharing or threatening to share intimate photos or videos of you without your permission is illegal. This is called ‘revenge porn’ or intimate image abuse.
From the Met Police website
Another 38 victims were also identified as being targeted by the men, 13 of whom were minors.
To cope with her loss, Jennifer has thrown herself into advocating against this crime and helping other families through its effects.
She says, “At least once a week, I have parents reaching out to me for help because their children are going through this.
In the last four months, I’ve spoken on the phone to four families who’ve also lost their children because of it
Jennifer Buta
“I help them to speak to police and advise them how to support their kids.
“In the last four months, I’ve spoken on the phone to four families who’ve also lost their children to suicide because of it – and I’m sure there are many more out there. We’re all part of a club we wished we didn’t belong to.”
Across the board, the parents she speaks to have no idea what sextortion is until their children have been targeted.
Jennifer says passionately, “It might not be a comfortable conversation, but it’s one that is worth having.
“I live with the grief of losing my son every day, and only wish he’d come to me or his dad about what happened.
“We miss him every day.”
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.
You're Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,www.headstogether.org.uk
- HUMEN www.wearehumen.org
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans,www.samaritans.org, 116 123
