SAN JOSE, Calif. – A California man was taken into custody and is accused of a “sextortion’ scheme by taking money from a 17-year-old male while threatening to post sexually explicit material from the victim. The crimes are reportedly connected to the teen’s suicide, according to reports.
The suspect was identified as 25-year-old Jonathan Kassi. He was arrested Thursday in the Los Angeles County city of Van Nuys before he was subsequently booked at the Santa Clara County Jail. According to the San Jose Police Department, he faces charges that include extortion and attempted disorderly conduct.
Kassi posed online as a teenage girl in order to trick boys into sending sexually explicit photos and videos. Police said he sexually exploited minor children on several social media platforms under fake accounts with the usernames “emillysmith” and “kassijonathan,” according to NBC Bay Area.
One of Kassi’s “sextortion” victims was 17-year-old Ryan Last from San Jose. He died by suicide after Kassi reportedly posed as a teenage girl and convinced him to share a racy photo of himself online.
Jonathan Kassi was arrested last Thursday in connection to the sextortion and eventual suicide of a 17-year-old male. (San Jose Police Department)
Once Last shared a compromising image of himself, Kassi threatened to send the photo to his friends and family unless the teen paid $5,000. Last sent some money but it wasn’t enough. Kassi demanded more money from the high school senior, spurring the teen to take his own life last spring, the New York Post reported.
Last was just days away from turning 18 and within weeks of graduating from Ann Sobrato High School.
The San Jose Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force said Kassi is connected to a larger West African financial sextortion scheme. After Kassi collects the blackmail money from various victims, he sends it to a co-conspirator in Ivory Coast in Africa.
Ryan Last was weeks away from graduating high school when he died by suicide last spring. (San Jose Police Department)
“It’s all about money for them, and not about the people they’re affecting,” said Last’s mother Pauline Stuart.
“We honestly never thought that something like this could target us, could reach our family but it just shows how easy it is,” said Stuart.
This FBI recently warned about a massive uptick in teenage boys being targeted online in “sextortion” schemes.
Roughly 3,000 underage minors, mostly teenage boys, have been victimized this year. The cases are connected to more than a dozen suicides, according to Justice Department officials.
Kassi was due to make an appearance in Santa Clara County court on Monday.
