Brian and Courtney Montgomery woke up on Dec. 1, 2022, to find their 16-year-old son Walker dead from suicide.
By all accounts, Walker was a normal child in a tight-knit family. The Montgomerys had sought a rural life, living on a farm in Lowndes County. They ate dinner as a family and the parents prayed with the children nightly before bed.
“To put it in perspective, I would have bet you that I was more likely to get struck by lightning on a clear day than Walker do this,” Brian Montgomery told a crowd of approximately 50 parents at Heritage Academy on Monday night.
“We knew it was wrong. We knew something happened that was terrible, but we had no idea why or how it happened to us,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery, who was joined by lawyer Lindsay Clemons, recounted his family’s devastation from the tragedy and his subsequent work in raising awareness about the type of sextortion that led to Walker taking his own life and — more generally — the dangers of unchecked technology in the hands of minors.
Sextortion is when someone is threatened with the distribution of their private, including sexual, material if they do not provide money or more sexual images or favors in return, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Around midnight Dec. 1, a girl sent Walker a direct message on Instagram, striking up what was initially a casual conversation. The conversation turned sexual and eventually the two video-called each other to do mutual sex acts on camera, Montgomery said.
Unbeknownst to Walker, he was being filmed from a secondary device.
As soon as the call ended, the extortion began.
Messages recovered from Walker’s phone show the extortionists demanded $1,000 or the video of him would be shared with his friends and family.
“They had the most leverage on Walker as they could get,” Montgomery said. “So they have this video of Walker, and if we can all imagine ourselves in that position — we are all adults here, and we’ve all been in positions that are not very friendly to a video camera. … I can only imagine what went through Walker’s mind…”
Within four hours of the initial contact, Walker had taken his own life.
Suspects and targets
When the FBI combed through Walker’s phone, they found no evidence of depression or other underlying issues as conversations across his various apps were “normal.”
During the investigation, FBI agents found and tracked the account Walker interacted with to a place in Nigeria and determined it was from a criminal group, not just a singular person, Montgomery said.
Walker, who attended Starkville Academy, was likely targeted because people often equate private school students with having money and valuing reputation said his father.
“Walker did what he did because of how he thought we would react,” Montgomery said. “… My point is really just on us and to teach our kids compassion because we don’t ever really know how our reactions are going to drive someone else’s actions, and obviously I’m here in front of you today because Walker thought that all they were saying was true — that his life was over. … None of that was true. I can’t speak for how the kids would’ve reacted, but for me personally, I would have moved across the country if I thought it would make his life better, and it hurts me to think he didn’t realize that in that moment.”
Raising awareness
Montgomery appeared on Fox News in mid-February to discuss the reality of sextortion and criminal groups targeting kids via social media. He said after the Fox interview about 25 parents from the South, and a handful from the Golden Triangle, have reached out to him about their own children dealing with sextortion.
Clemons, a former employee of the 16th Circuit District Attorney’s office who now operates her own law practice, said within two weeks of Montgomery’s interview with Fox News, she had five meetings regarding sextortion.
She stressed parents need to have frank conversations with their children about the topic.
“This is the new frontier of the repercussions of us living in a culture where we have these cell phones,” Clemons said. “… If we are trying to protect them by keeping the knowledge this stuff exists, we’re doing them a disservice, so I think the first thing that needs to happen is you need to talk to them about it. Even that isn’t going to guarantee this isn’t going to happen. … The biggest thing they need to know is that you’re in their corner no matter what.”
Clemons said paying extortion money only leads to additional demands of money. Contacting the authorities and preparing for the possibility of the images or videos being leaked are the best actions to take.
“The more shame is associated, the more the risk, especially with high-achieving students who are going to church and trying to be good people … A lot of it is self-imposed pressure on them,” Clemons said. “They’ve got to know that God’s grace is bigger than anything, and that yours is too. It’s one thing to know that God has your back, but moms and dads can be real scary. … They can’t think their life is going to be over if they do the worst thing that they can imagine.”
Clemons and Montgomery both suggested addressing any lapses in judgment later and immediately reassuring a child who is being exploited.
Both acknowledged there is only so much parents can do when it comes to technology because, oftentimes, children are more tech savvy than parents ever will be. They said the solution lies in legislation and making tech companies liable.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” Montgomery told The Dispatch. “It’s great we’re helping somebody and that Walker’s life amounted to people having that conversation with their kids. On the other hand, it’s always there and a constant reminder of what we’re dealing with and going through. … If I could say one thing it would be stay vigilant with our phones, and let your kids know there’s nothing they could do that would stop you from loving them.”
What to do
■ If young people are being exploited, it should be reported. Call 1-800-CALL-FBI or report it online at tips.fbi.gov
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
