A teenage boy has fallen prey to a Snapchat “extortion” plot causing him to attempt to take his own life. The 17 year old crossed into oncoming traffic at more than 100km/h, colliding head on into a car killing a 63 year old female driver. The 17-year old only sustained minor injuries.
The man now aged 19, was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment in Brisbane Supreme Court last Wednesday, after pleading guilty to manslaughter. He will now spend 18 months in an adult prison before being released.
The court heard the tragedy unfolded in August 2022 when the then teenager fell victim to a Snapchat scammer who enticed him to send explicit photos to a person claiming to be a young woman. The scammer then began threatening the teen to send money or he would make the images public.
Justice Peter Davis stated the boy transferred $500 then a further $200, however the scammer released the photos to a friend of the boy anyway. The teenager pleaded with the scammer to stop and wrote a final note to his tormentor saying, “Hope you sleep better knowing you killed me”.
He further went on to say, “I accept that the explanation for your offending is that you panicked when threatened by Amber Rose and the threat of public disclosure of the photographs so impacted you that you attempted to suicide by causing a motor vehicle accident in which you hoped to die”. However, a psychological report stated that he did not recall feeling suicidal but was experiencing severe stress.
The court heard that the teen had no criminal history or traffic history and was at a low risk of reoffending. He will spend 50% of the 3 year sentence with a conviction recorded, and a disqualification from driving for 18 months.
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