15-year-old takes his own life after criminals manipulate him in heartbreaking online s*x scam

The parents of a teenage boy from West Virginia say he died by suicide less than three hours after being targeted in a brutal sex scam that police are now investigating.

Bryce Tate, 15, died on 6th November after a scammer posing as a teenage girl manipulated him into sending nude photos, then threatened to leak them unless he paid hundreds of dollars. His father, Adam Tate, told the New York Post Bryce had believed he was speaking to a 17-year-old local girl with mutual friends, but it was all a calculated lie.

Credit: Tyler Mountain Funeral Home

“They shamed him relentlessly, convincing him that this one mistake had ruined his life forever,” Adam wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post. “Bryce, feeling trapped with no way out and believing his world was destroyed, was manipulated into taking his own life.”

The scammers demanded $500, even after Bryce told them he only had $30. When he couldn’t pay, they threatened to release the images and allegedly told him to kill himself because his “life is already over”.

He was found dead at 7:10pm, less than three hours after receiving the first message. Investigators from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office say Bryce received around 120 messages in just the 20 minutes leading up to his death.

Police confirmed he had been the victim of an online sextortion scheme, a growing tactic where predators pose as teens, solicit explicit images, then immediately demand money. According to the FBI, most victims are boys aged 14 to 17, and many feel too ashamed or scared to seek help.

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Adam says the scammers had clearly researched Bryce to build his trust. “They knew which gym he worked out at, they knew his best friends, they knew he played basketball for Nitro High School,” he told the New York Post. “They’re godless demons… worse than criminals.”

Bryce’s family describe him as “hilarious, funny, goofy”, and someone who could brighten anyone’s day. Now, they’re fighting to stop this from happening to anyone else. Adam and state lawmakers are pushing for “Bryce’s Law”, which would introduce harsher penalties for online harassment that leads to self-harm or suicide.

The family believes Bryce may have been targeted by a larger sextortion ring with international ties. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found over 33,000 reports of child sextortion in 2024, according to The New York Post. 

Sergeant Jeremy Burns from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office urged teens to lock down their social media accounts. “Make sure it’s set so you have to authorise who follows you,” he said. “Don’t ever send sexual pictures. Just don’t do it.”

While the FBI won’t comment on specifics in Bryce’s case due to the ongoing investigation, the sadistic nature of the communications he received is characteristic of the teen sextortion ring known as 764, which has been linked to Russia, Europe, Africa, and the US.

In a press release last month, the FBI described 764 as a “violent online network that seeks to destroy civilized society through the corruption and exploitation of vulnerable populations, which often include minors.”

The Tab has reached out to the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI for comment.

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Featured image credit: Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, Facebook/Adam Tate