18. Ryan Last & Eli Heacock: 45-Minute Sextortion

About this episode

This episode explores the urgent and dangerous crime of sextortion through the stories of two teenagers from different states.

A sextortion scam can turn a single message into a countdown. In this episode, we follow the cases of Ryan Last and Elijah “Eli” Heacock—two teens targeted through online blackmail tactics designed to trigger panic, isolate victims, and demand money fast. We unpack how sextortion works, how AI-generated images are changing the threat, and what families can do in the first critical minutes to stop the spiral.

People in this episode

Host: Frank Battiston

Guests: Ryan Last, Elijah “Eli” Heacock

Topics covered

• sextortion
• online blackmail
• teenagers
• AI-generated images
• victim isolation
• red flags

Keywords

• sextortion
• blackmail
• teenagers
• AI images
• victim support
• online safety

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NCMEC, PowerTale Podcasts

Places: California, Kentucky

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