Marquette, MI – March 31, 2022 – Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt is spreading the word about internet safety and suicide awareness after 17-year-old Jordan DeMay of Marquette took his own life on Friday, March 25th after falling victim to an online extortion scam.
Zyburt spoke about the case today with Mark & Walt in the Morning.
Zyburt explained that normally, the Sheriff’s Office does not release information on suicides, but the parents requested this information be released.
According to Zyburt, DeMay was being extorted through Instagram over compromising pictures that he had taken of himself. He was put under extreme pressure by the perpetrator to pay money in exchange for the pictures not being sent to his family and Instagram followers.
The events are believed to have occurred in less than six hours.
He said this type of incident, known as sextortion, has become a common occurrence and can happen to anyone.
Zyburt and the DeMay family say they hope this will assist the community in healing, and also hope it will educate others and result in conversations about internet safety.
The Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate this incident.
If a young person is being exploited, they are the victim of a crime and should report it. Contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.
If you or a loved one is in crisis, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately. The phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK.
-mediaBrew Communications News
