Glenn Daeward Boyd, 36, a resident of Kershaw, was found guilty of attempted extortion that resulted in the death of a victim and received a sentence of more than twenty years in maximum prison term.
According to the United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Boyd was sentenced on Tuesday after being found guilty of attempted extortion, stalking, and five counts of wire fraud in February. Boyd was also sentenced on Tuesday.
According to the prosecution, Boyd began conversing with the victim, who was 22 years old, in August of 2023. Boyd pretended to be a girl named “Jad,” who was 15 years old and from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
After that, Boyd assumed the identities of “Jad’s grandparents” and threatened to denounce the victim to the authorities as a pedophile if he did not provide the victim money. Moreover, he established a Facebook account with the intention of exposing and intimidating the victim through a connected account. The victim allegedly committed suicide on the same day that Boyd was reported, according to the prosecution.
At the time, Boyd was serving a sentence in a jail in South Carolina for the crimes of assault with the intent to murder, assaulting a correctional employee, and instigating a riot. He was also serving a sentence for intentionally killing another person. Boyd was found guilty of using an illegal cell phone to access the dating application “Plenty of Fish,” according to the evidence presented in the trial.
With the use of education and new resources, the SC task force fights against the exploitation of children online.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation remains unyielding in its dedication to delivering justice, even as we stand in solidarity with the loved ones of the victim. Cheyvoryea Gibson, who is acting as the Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the state of Michigan, stated that “we will collaborate with our law enforcement partners throughout the state to identify and hold accountable those who perpetrate acts of online exploitation.”
Being selective about what they share online, blocking or ignoring messages from strangers, being aware that people can pretend to be anything or anyone online, being suspicious if you meet someone on one game or app and this person asks you to start talking on a different platform, being in the know – nothing “disappears” online, and being willing to ask for help are some of the six tips that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provided to individuals on how they can protect themselves from sextortion schemes.
