San Jose – Four men in Côte d’Ivoire were arrested as part of a sexual extortion, or “sextrusions”, which targeted thousands of victims around the world, including a teenager from San Jose who ended up committing suicide, according to the authorities.
Alfred Kassi, an Ivorian citizen, was identified as the main suspect following a long investigation by the United States and the Ivorian police, the United States justice ministry said on Friday.
Three of his accomplices were identified as Oumarou Ouedraogo, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse.
Ryan Last, a 17 -year -old elder at Sobrato High School, died by suicide in his home in South San Jose on February 26, 2022.
An investigation revealed that the teenager had corresponded online with an individual pretending to be a 20 -year -old woman, later identified by the authorities like Kassi. The conversation would have become intimate and the two exchanged sexually revealing photos.
Ryan was then said that he had to pay $ 5,000 to the other person, otherwise his photo would be revealed publicly. After the teenager said he could not afford to pay as much, the amount was reduced to $ 150. He paid the smallest sum, but the monetary requests continued.
When Kassi was arrested on April 29, he would have had the messages he sent to the teenager on his phone.
Authorities said that Aouraogo helped Kassi launder the money he received from the victim.
Diaby and Cisse, for their part, were part of Kassi’s alleged sexual extortion network and admitted their own crimes of sexual extortion, according to the authorities.
In September 2023, another accomplice based in the United States, Jonathan Kassi, was sentenced to time and supervised after admitting a teenager criminal indictment. Jonathan Kassi is not linked to Alfred Kassi.
The government of the Ivorian Coast does not extract its citizens, therefore Alfred Kassi, Oueraogo, Diaby and Cisse will be prosecuted in their own country under the statutes of Ivorian cybercrime.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case with the help of the San Jose police service, the United States Embassy in Abidjan and Meta, the authorities.
Victims of sexual extortion or anyone who knows a victim of sexual extortion can contact the FBI at 800-225-5324 or submit a report to the Internet crime center on www.ic3.gov.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
