SAN JOSE — A man implicated in the sexual extortion of a San Jose teen, which authorities and his family say led to him dying by suicide a few hours after an internet encounter in February, was arrested last week and is believed to have been involved in similar manipulation scams targeting teens online.
Jonathan Kassi, 25, was arrested Thursday in Van Nuys, according to San Jose police. He was scheduled to be arraigned in a San Jose courtroom Monday afternoon on two felony charges of extortion and one misdemeanor count of attempted disorderly conduct by posting a photograph or recording without consent.
The victim, 17-year-old San Jose resident Ryan Last, died Feb. 26 at his home. That same day, the SJPD Internet Crimes Against Children task force began looking into the circumstances of his death, and that investigation led to the determination that the previous night, the teen had been corresponding online with someone be believed to be a girl.
Their conversation reportedly became intimate, and the two exchanged sexually revealing photos, according to the investigation. That was quickly followed by Ryan being told that he had to pay the other person $5,000 or else his photo would be revealed publicly.
The monetary demands dropped in scale, eventually to $150, after the victim communicated that he could not afford them. But even after paying that smaller amount, the demands reportedly did not cease.
By the following morning, Ryan had died by suicide. The investigation later found that he had been targeted by a West Africa-based scam, and identified Kassi as a suspect.
Kassi, a resident of the L.A.-area city of Reseda, was formally charged Oct. 19, according to court records, but he was not located until last week. He was being held Monday in the Santa Clara County jail.
It was not fully clear if Kassi was the person who was communicating with the victim or oversaw the broader “sextortion” scheme — as authorities call it — but investigators alleged Monday that Kassi “sexually exploited children online utilizing the usernames ’emillysmith’ and ‘kassijonathan’ on various social media applications.”
In the weeks and months after Ryan died, his mother began speaking publicly about her son’s death, with the aim of raising awareness of sextortion schemes in the hopes of preventing similar tragedies from happening to other young people.
She referenced her son’s last note to his family to emphasize his despair: “He really, truly thought in that time that there wasn’t a way to get by if those pictures were actually posted online … His note showed he was absolutely terrified. No child should have to be that scared.”
Around the time that Ryan’s mother began speaking out, the FBI launched a campaign to highlight the practice to wider audiences, and stated that many of the sextortion scams reported to the bureau involve actors in Africa and Southeast Asia. But the agency also said that a plurality of cases are never reported.
Anyone with information about the February case, or other incidents that might be linked to Kassi, can contact Sgt. Sean Pierce at 408-537-1397 or at 3415@sanjoseca.gov. Tips can also be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at svcrimestoppers.org.
If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers free, round-the-clock support, information and resources for help. Reach the lifeline at 988 or 800-273-8255, or see the 988lifeline.org website.
