Brandon Guffy: Coercive Control and Sextortion

Feb 3, 2025

Brandon Guffey, a South Carolina Representative, passionately advocates against sextortion after losing his son to online predators. He highlights the alarming rise in such scams targeting young boys, emphasizing the emotional toll on families. Guffey discusses Gavin's Law, aimed at making sextortion a felony, and his ongoing fight for accountability from tech companies. His nonprofit, Less Than Three, works to educate and protect youth, underlining the urgent need for awareness and preventative measures against digital exploitation.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Unmasking Sextortion: The Hidden Threats

01:57 • 13min

Sextortion and Valentine's Day Insights

14:57 • 9min

Navigating Sextortion and Digital Dangers

23:39 • 17min

Valentine's Day Roses and Financial Tips

40:39 • 3min

Navigating Parenting in the Digital Age

43:35 • 15min

Advocacy for Mental Health and Conversations on Suicide Prevention

58:21 • 4min

Online sextortion scams are on the rise, targeting young victims—especially teen boys—by coercing them into sharing explicit images, then blackmailing them into silence. These predators use fear, humiliation, and intimidation to trap their victims, often with devastating consequences.

Our guest today, South Carolina Representative Brandon Guffey, knows this horror firsthand. In 2022, his 17-year-old son, Gavin, fell victim to sextortion and tragically took his own life. Since then, Brandon has dedicated his life to raising awareness, passing Gavin’s Law to make sextortion a felony in South Carolina, and fighting for accountability from tech giants like Meta. Through his nonprofit, Less Than Three, he works to educate families, protect young people, and prevent future tragedies.

This conversation is both heartbreaking and urgent. If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available 24/7. Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for support.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide, coercion, and online exploitation. Listener discretion is advised. UPDATE: Since this episode was recorded, the alleged scammer, Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, has been extradited to the U.S. and is currently in custody awaiting trial.

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The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.

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CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Amphibian.Media

Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Associate producers: Amanda Zaremba and Matt Stroud of Amphibian.Media

Audio production: Red Caiman Studios

Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin