U.S. lawmaker delivers tearful speech before Senate after losing teenage son to sextortion by scammer from Lagos
South Carolina House Rep. Brandon Guffey has rendered a tearful testimony in the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Children’s Safety in the Digital Era.
Guffey’s teenage son, Gavin, took his own life in an apparent sextortion scheme orchestrated by Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, of Osun State, Nigeria.
The law maker narrated how Lawal posed as a girl and blackmailed his son in the US all the way from Lagos, Nigeria, until his son took his life.
It would be recalled that Brandon Guffey’s 17-year-old son, Gavin committed su!cide in 2022 after a sexual predator blackmailed him online.
Guffey, a Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives sprang into action over the next year and helped the FBI track the perpetrator to his location in Nigeria.
The lawmaker also spearheaded the passage of Gavin’s Law, a statewide measure that criminalized blackmailing minors over s£xually explicit photos or videos.
Guffey and four other people testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday about the need for legislative action to protect children.
The experts and advocates said online abuse had continued to increase in recent years, while Congress failed repeatedly to pass any legislation. Witnesses called on Congress to pass laws that help families and law enforcement to protect children against online exploitation.
“Protecting youth from online dangers and holding big tech companies responsible is now my life’s mission,” Guffey told the committee. He also issued a stark warning, saying “big tech is the big tobacco of this generation.”
In his testimony, a visibly emotional Guffey recounted the night his son took his own life and the fallout.
A scammer posing as a girl convinced Gavin to turn on “vanish mode” and send explicit photos in an Instagram chat. “Vanish mode” allows messages to disappear once they are received.
The scammer then threatened to release the photos unless he received money from Gavin, who sent the online predator $25, saying it was all he had in his account. This wasn’t enough for the scammer, who continued to demand more money.
Tragically, Gavin took his own life as a result.
The predator, however, was not done with the Guffey family. The state lawmaker told the committee that the scammer proceeded to harass himself, his son and his teen cousin. Guffey says this is because Meta took down the account that tormented his son Gavin and left the rest of the scammer’s accounts up.
Guffey said in his speech to the senate: “The predator that contacted Gavin was recently extradited to the US two weeks ago from Lagos, Nigeria.
“The predator not only attacked my son Gavin who was 17, but proceeded to extort my 16-year-old son, my 14-year-old cousin, and then myself.
“One of the messages I received read, ‘Did I tell you that your son begged for his life?'”
Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, of Osun State, Nigeria, who was indicted by a Grand Jury in October 2023, has been extradited to the United States from Nigeria to face prosecution for the s£xtortion of a South Carolina minor, which led to the victim’s de@th.
Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal faces the possibility of life in prison.
Within a few months of taking office, Guffey was able to pass a law bearing his son’s name. Gavin’s Law makes s£xtortion, the act of blackmailing someone using explicit images or videos, a felony in South Carolina.
The offense can be upgraded to an aggravated felony if the victim is a minor or if there are other mitigating circumstances, which are outlined in the law. Additionally, Gavin’s Law requires South Carolina schools to teach students about the dangers of sextortion.
“Sextortion is now taught throughout the State and every kid at least has some awareness so they don’t feel alone like my son did that night,” Guffey told the Senate committee on Wednesday.
“Sextortion is now taught throughout the State and every kid at least has some awareness so they don’t feel alone like my son did that night,” Guffey told the Senate committee on Wednesday.
Guffey does not have faith in Big Tech’s ability to reform itself.
He recalled attending a January 2024 hearing in which Mark Zuckerberg offered what he called “a forced, pathetic apology.”
Guffey is demanding lawmakers take action on Section 230, which he believes will “go down as one of the greatest disasters.”
Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act distinguishes Big Tech platforms from those that would be treated as a “publisher.” This absolves online platforms of legal liability for what users post.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle discussed the need for legislation to create new industry standards for Big Tech aimed at protecting America’s children.
While Guffey is advocating for federal legislation, he is also calling for a cultural shift.
“I believe that in this country we’ve lost grace, and we have too often kicked people for the mistakes that they make, and we tell our kids that ‘everything you do online will stay with you forever.’ Well, imagine if you just took your darkest moment and posted it online,” Guffey said to the committee.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) says it received more than 26,710 reports of financial sextortion in 2023. NCMEC says it has seen “an overwhelming increase in reports of sextortion from children and teens.” The centre advises parents to talk to their kids about the dangers of sextortion but also to let them know that they need to get help and not immediately pay or comply with the blackmailer.
