Timothy Barnett died by suicide April 6, 2023, after falling victim to a sextortion scheme on Snapchat. His mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Snap, Inc.
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK . A South Carolina mother is suing Snapchat after her 13-year-old son died by suicide last year. The family says young Timothy Barnett took his own life April 6, 2023, at his Sumter home after he fell victim to a sextortion scheme on the social media app.
woke up in a nightmare,' Hauptman, a mother of three boys and four stepchildren, said. It wasn't until about six months later that Hauptman realized her son had been the victim of a sextortion scheme on Snapchat. The FBI describes sextortion as a criminal act in which an offender contacts a victim online and coerces the victim to send explicit images or videos in exchange for either more explicit material or money.
What happened to Timothy is devastating, and our hearts go out to his family during this unimaginable time,' a Snapchat spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 'We have zero tolerance for predators abusing young people on Snapchat and are working constantly to fight this horrific activity. We use proactive detection tools to find and remove these types of criminals and work around the clock to support law enforcement investigations.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed in South Carolina federal court argues 'Snapchat is defectively designed with features that make the platform unreasonably dangerous for minors like Timothy,' and that 's a direct and foreseeable consequence of Snap's unsafe design, lack of warnings, and inadequate parental controls, Timothy fell victim to a sexual predator who extorted him by threatening to share sexually explicit images Timothy had been manipulated into sending,' resulting...
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has created a free service called Take it Down, which is meant to help victims of sextortion erase explicit images of victims or get bad actors to stop sharing them online. The tool can be accessed at https://takeitdown.ncmec.org. The FBI encourages anyone who believes they may be the victim of sextortion or know someone who may be a victim to immediately contact local law enforcement or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
South Carolina's 'Carolina Squat' ban gets enforced May 10South Carolina will begin issuing tickets to motorists who drive a 'squatted' vehicle; the modification has been banned since November 2023.
Read more »
Retired South Carolina Army vet whose geologist son vanished without a trace running for CongressDavid Robinson upended his life after terrorists attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, selling his business to join the Army. He came home, then his son went missing.
Read more »
South Carolina agency gave child to 'monster,' according to lawsuitThe South Carolina agency intended to protect vulnerable children gave a teenage girl 'to a monster,' according to lawyers, who alleged there's rampant exploitation.
Read more »
LSU Punches Ticket to SEC Championship After Historic Win Over South CarolinaSteven Milam propels LSU over South Carolina in historic fashion, Tigers rally back late to remain alive in Hoover.
Read more »
Jay Johnson, Steven Milam Discuss Historic SEC Tourney Win Over South CarolinaLSU overcomes an eight-point deficit to take down South Carolina, Tigers win a thriller in Hoover.
Read more »
South Carolina Baseball's Fielding Woes Show Up Again In Semifinal Loss To LSU TigersDetrimental fielding mistakes overcame solid offense once again for South Carolina's baseball team in their SEC Tournament Semifinal loss to the LSU Tigers.
Read more »