A suspect has been arrested in Ivory Coast in connection with the 2022 sextortion case linked to the death of a 17-year-old teenager from Streetsboro, Ohio, the teenager's parents announced on Saturday night.
Source: WKYC
The parents made the announcement at the inaugural gala of the family foundation they set up to educate families about sextortion. They said the suspect is 23 years old and remains in custody in Ivory Coast. No name for the suspect was released in the reports.
Source: WOIO Cleveland 19 News
The teenager died by suicide in November 2022 after falling victim to sextortion, in which a predator posing online threatens to share private images unless money is paid. The family's foundation has campaigned since then for parents and teenagers to learn the warning signs and to report such threats instead of paying or staying silent.
In the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, free and available 24 hours a day. Anyone being threatened online should save the messages, stop replying, and tell a trusted adult or the police.