Brandon Guffey lost his son last July after the teenager was the victim of ‘sextortion’ and, once elected to the South Carolina state House of Representatives, the grieving father decided to start a project legislation to combat the phenomenon.
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Gavin Guffey, 17, was receiving messages from scammers posing as a young woman sending him nude photos, according to CNN. Gavin had sent some in turn, and the scammers decided to blackmail them asking for money, otherwise they would publish the photos of him.
On July 27, the young man then committed suicide with a firearm in the bathroom of the family residence in Rock Hill.
Sexual extortion, or “sextortion,” has been a growing phenomenon in recent years, according to the FBI.
At the time of his son’s death, Guffey was running for his state’s House of Representatives. Once elected, his first order of business was to introduce a state bill to criminalize the type of scam that led to his son’s death.
The bill passed the House last month and the Senate on Thursday, where it was named “Gavin’s Law,” in honor of her late son.
If this bill becomes law, scammers who attempt to extort a minor or at-risk adult could face up to 5 years in prison.
The next step is to have the state governor accept and sign the law.