This story may contain details that are disturbing. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
A Mississippi father who lost his son to a growing "sextortion" trend targeting teen boys issued a stark warning for parents on their children's social media access as the nationwide debate over cyber safety takes center stage.
Brian Montgomery lost his 16-year-old son Walker to the dangerous trend back in December, after he took his own life when he was extorted with explicit imagery.
Montgomery joined "America's Newsroom" to discuss the tragedy and how parents can take action to prevent the same thing from happening to their children.
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"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," Montgomery told Dana Perino on Monday. "As a parent that's something that I'm 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."
"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," he continued.
Montgomery said Walker was targeted by threats originating from Nigeria, according to the FBI, despite rumors the threat was local.
His teen son reportedly received a message from an Instagram account, modeling an "attractive" young girl, that lured him into communication after claiming to be a mutual acquaintance.
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Eventually, Walker opened a video chat with the perpetrators, who recorded him partaking in sexual activity. Shortly after, they pressed him for $1,000, his father said, using the imagery as leverage.
"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."
"But I want people to understand the evil… that is out there in the world that is after our kids," he continued.
Montgomery argued the growing trend is not only a matter of parental supervision, but also noted that tech companies should be held accountable for kids' safety 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," Montgomery said.
He described his son Walker as like "just any other kid" who loved his family, being 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."
The FBI's investigation into the "sextortion" case remains ongoing.
