[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ] >>> GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.
GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY.
WELCOME, IM MEGYN KELLY AND WE
BEGIN WITH OUR SERIES, "SECRETS
REVEALED."
REVEALED."
OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE DAYS IN
THE FALL OF 2015, THE 21-YEAR-OLD SON OF OUR FIRST
GUESTS LIVED WITH WHAT HE FELT
WAS A TERRIBLE SECRET.
JAKE CURTIS FELL VICTIM TO
ONLINE EXTORTION.
ONLINE EXTORTION. WHAT HAPPENED OVER THOSE FIVE
DAYS WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF JAKES AND HIS FAMILYS LIVESE OF
JAKES AND HIS FAMILYS LIVES FOREVER.
FOREVER.
PLEASE WATCH AS CINDY GEORGE TELLS US ABOUT HER SON AND THAT
DANGEROUS ONLINE ENCOUNTER.
>> MY HEART BREAKS FOR WHAT HE
WENT THROUGH.
WENT THROUGH.
HE WAS JUST REAL FUN LOVING.
HE WAS REALLY QUIET, IF YOU
DIDNT KNOW HIM.
BUT ONCE YOU KNEW HIM, LOOK OUT, YOU KNOW.YOU KNEW HIM, LOOK OUT,
YOU KNOW.
HE WAS A FUN KID. HE AND I WENT ON A NATIONAL
PARKS ROAD TRIP.
I JUST CHERISH THAT.
BECAUSE I AM A TEACHER AND HE
USED TO COME AND SPEND SO MUCH
TIME IN MY CLASSROOM, HE DECIDED
HE WANTED TO BE A TEACHER.
>> DESPITE SUCH A BRIGHT FUTURE,
21-YEAR-OLD JAKE CURTIS BEGAN TO
SUFFER IN SILENCE.
NOTHING COULD HAVE PREPARED
CINDY GEORGE, HIS MOTHER, FOR
WHAT SHE BEGAN TO LEARN ON
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30th, 2015,
AFTER READING A LETTER JAKE HAD
WRITTEN TO HER.
>> DEAR MOM, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH THAT IT PAINS TO WRITE THIS.UCH
THAT IT PAINS TO WRITE THIS. I APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT I DID.
I LOST MY WAY AND COULDNT GET
BACK.
BACK.
I KNOW THIS IS SUDDEN, BUT THE HELL I WENT THROUGH SUNDAY THE
HELL I WENT THROUGH SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WAS TOO MUCH
FOR ME TO HANDLE.
>> A CLEARER PICTURE WOULD NOT
BE REVEALED TO CINDY FOR ANOTHER
FOUR MONTHS AS SHE WOULD LEARN
THAT JAKE HAD SPENT THE PREVIOUS
FIVE DAYS COMMUNICATING ONLINE
WITH A STRANGER.
>> HE THOUGHT IT WAS A GIRL.
AND SHE GOT HIM TO TAKE A
PICTURE.
PICTURE.
IT WAS KIND OF LIKE A YOU SHOW
ME YOURS, ILL SHOW YOU MINE
TYPE THING.
AND HE DID IT.
>> JAKE SHARED A NUDE PHOTO OF HIMSELF THROUGH KICK MESSAGES.
THE CONVERSATION FROM JAKES
SMARTPHONE INDICATES HE EXPECTED
TO RECEIVE A NUDE PHOTO IN
RETURN.
RETURN.
>> AS SOON AS HE SENT THAT PICTURE, THEY SAID, OKAY, NOW
WEVE GOT YOU.
>> JAKE HAD BECOME THE VICTIM OF
SEXTORTION.
SEXTORTION.
SHE SAID YOURE GOING TO PAY ME
SOME MONEY OR IM GOING TO SEND
YOUR PICTURE TO YOUR WORK, YOUR
SCHOOL, YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
>> THEY TOLD HIM TO SEND $300
IMMEDIATELY.
>> AND THEY SAID HE HAD TEN
MINUTES.
>> THE TEXTS SHOW THE
BLACKMAILER ALSO DEMANDED PHOTOS
OF JAKE MAKING THE PAYMENTS, AS PROOF THAT JAKE AS FOLLOWING AS
PROOF THAT JAKE AS FOLLOWING THEIR RULES.
THEIR RULES.
>> THEY HAD HIM IN SUCH A PANIC, IN SUCH A WAY THAT HE DID NOTIC,
IN SUCH A WAY THAT HE DID NOT THINK THINGS THROUGH.
HE REALLY BELIEVED THAT THEY
COULD DESTROY HIS LIFE.
SO HE WENT AND MADE THE PAYMENT.
>> THE TEXTS SHOW JAKE WAS
PROMISED SEVERAL TIMES BY HIS
BLACKMAILER THAT THE NUDE PHOTO
WOULD BE DELETED IF THE MONEY
WERE PAID.
WERE PAID. >> HE SAID NOW ARE YOU GOING TO
ERASE IT, LIKE YOU SAID?
>> THE TEXTS SHOW HE KNEW THAT
HE HAD BEEN SCAMMED, BUT HE
NEVER TOLD A SOUL.
NOT HIS MOTHER, NOT THE
AUTHORITIES.
AUTHORITIES.
JAKE SOON REALIZED THE THREAT WAS FAR FROM OVER. THE THREAT
WAS FAR FROM OVER. >> THEY SAID, JAKE, DO YOU
BELIEVE IN GENIES?
AND HES LIKE WHY?
AND THEY SAID BECAUSE YOURE
GOING TO BE OUR OWN PERSONAL
GENIE AND YOURE GOING TO GRANT
US THREE WISHES OR THREE
PAYMENTS.
PAYMENTS.
>> JOINING ME NOW IS JAKES
MOTHER, CINDY GEORGE, AND JAKES
FATHER, DARREN CURTIS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING
HERE.
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STORY AND
IT IS HAPPENING MORE AND MORE IN TODAYS DAY AND AGE, WHICH ISE IN
TODAYS DAY AND AGE, WHICH IS WHY YOURE SPEAKING OUT.
SO THE THREAT BEGAN WITH JAKE
INNOCENTLY ENOUGH CORRESPONDING
ONLINE THROUGH THIS MESSAGING
SERVICE, KICK, WITH SOMEONE HE
BELIEVED TO BE A YOUNG WOMAN.
JUST DESCRIBE HIM TO US.
WHAT -- WAS HE FUN LOVING?
WHATS HE LIKE?
>> JAKE WAS THE MOST FUN-LOVING,
FUN PERSONALITY KID.
HE LOVED MUSIC.
FROM THE TIME HE WAS A LITTLE
BABY, HE WOULD BE IN THE
BACKGROUND -- AS A TODDLER, HE
WOULD KEEP BEAT TO THE MUSIC AND
HE LOVED MUSIC.
HE WAS A PRANKSTER.
HE LIKED TO BLOW WATERMELONS UP
IN MY KITCHEN.
I CAME HOPE ONE DAY AND MY ROOM
WAS FULL OF BALLOONS.
JUST REALLY FUN-LOVING KID.
AND VERY GENEROUS.
VERY KIND HEARTED.
HES THE TYPE OF KID THAT -- IM
A TEACHER, AND HE WAS IN MY
CLASS.
CLASS.
YOUR MOTHER IS A TEACHER, NO
FUN, RIGHT?
AND THERE WAS A LITTLE BOY THAT
WAS BEING PICKED ON AND HE WAS
THE ONLY ONE THAT WOULD BE HIS FRIEND.Y ONE THAT WOULD BE HIS
FRIEND.
THE OTHER KIDS WOULD SAY, COME, JAKE, COME PLAY BASKETBALL WITH
US AND HE WOULD SAY, NO.
IM GOING TO -- IM GOING TO
HANG OUT WITH HIM, YOU KNOW,
WITH THIS OTHER LITTLE BOY.
HE WAS JUST REALLY KIND.
>> THESE FIVE DAYS UNFOLDED,
WELL, SUNDAY TO THURSDAY.
AND ULTIMATELY JAKE COULDNT
TAKE THE PRESSURE.
HE COULDNT TAKE THE THREATS
WHICH CULMINATED IN THREATS
AGAINST YOUR FAMILY AS WELL AND
HE TOOK HIS OWN LIFE.
>> HE DID.
>> HOW CAN IT BE, HOW CAN IT BE
THAT AN OTHERWISE HEALTHY YOUNG
MAN, RIGHT, HE WASNT -- HE
WASNT MENTALLY ILL, HE HAD A
CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TWO
OF YOU FROM EVERYTHING IVE
READ.
READ.
HOW CAN THAT BE?
>> THEY REALLY HAD TO WORK TO
GET HIM TO SEND A PICTURE, AND
THEN WHEN HE SENT IT, THEY PUT
SO MUCH PRESSURE ON HIM.
WHEN I READ HIS PHONE, WHEN I GOT IT BACK FOUR MONTHS LATER,
IT WAS -- I JUST SHOOK.
I UNDERSTOOD WHY HE WAS UNDER SO
MUCH PRESSURE.
MUCH PRESSURE. THEY SAID THAT THEY WERE GOING
TO DESTROY HIS LIFE.
THEY HAD FACEBOOK PAGES OF WHERE
HE WORKED, WHERE HE WENT TO
SCHOOL.
SCHOOL.
THEY SENT MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY, NAMES, AND SAID THAT THEY WEREY,
NAMES, AND SAID THAT THEY WERE GOING TO DESTROY THEIR LIVES
THROUGH FACEBOOK.
THROUGH FACEBOOK. >> IT STARTED OFF, AS WE PUT IN
THAT PIECE, WITH A SINGULAR
THREAT.
THREAT.
I WANT $300 AND I WANT IT RIGHT
NOW.
AND YOU CAN SEE JAKE REALIZED HES DONE SOMETHING -- HESIZED
HES DONE SOMETHING -- HES GIVEN SOMETHING VERY PERSONAL TO
SOMEBODY HE SHOULD NOT HAVE
TRUSTED.
TRUSTED.
>> YES.
>> AND THE PERSON KEEPS UPPING
THE ANTE, AND YOU CAN FEEL
JAKES PANIC UNFOLD IN SOME OF THESE TEXTS.UNFOLD IN SOME OF
THESE TEXTS. THERES ONE WHERE HE MAKES THE
FIRST PAYMENT OF $300.
THEN HE SENDS ANOTHER PAYMENT OF
$130 AFTER HES REALIZING THIS
PERSON IS A SCAM ARTIST.
AND THE TEXT MESSAGE SAYS FROM
JAKE, YOU HAVE BROKEN YOUR WORD
TWICE.
TWICE.
WHY WOULD I BELIEVE YOU NOW?
THE BLACKMAILER RESPOND, WELL, YOU DONT HAVE A CHOICE., WELL,
YOU DONT HAVE A CHOICE. THE BLACKMAILER SENDS AGAIN A
PICTURE OF JAKES NUDE PHOTO AND
SAYS DO YOU?
AND JAKE RESPONDS YOURE RUINING
MY LIFE.
MY LIFE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. THERE WAS NEVER ANY MERCY SHOWN.
THE PERSON WAS SINGULARLY
DETERMINED TO GET MORE MONEY
FROM HIM.
FROM HIM.
>> OH, HE BEGGED.
HE BEGGED.
HE SAID IM JUST A COLLEGE KID.
PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE.
HE SAID -- HE SAID PLEASE DONT
DESTROY MY LIFE.
I MEAN HE BEGGED. AND HE SAID I ALREADY GAVE YOU A
PAYMENT.
PAYMENT.
AND THEY SAID, WELL, YOURE GOING TO BE MY PERSONAL GENIE
AND YOURE GOING TO GIVE ME
THREE MORE PAYMENTS NOW.
AND EVERY TIME THEY TOLD HIM,
WELL, WELL DELETE IT, WELL
DELETE IT.
DELETE IT. AND FINALLY AT ONE POINT I COULD
TELL THAT HE GAVE UP.
HE REALIZED THIS IS NEVER
ENDING.
ENDING.
HE MADE THREE PAYMENTS TO THEM
AND THEN HE REALIZED THIS IS
GOING TO GO ON AND ON. >> YOU CAN FEEL HIS DESPERATION
IN THE TEXT MESSAGING THAT WAS
EXCHANGED.
EXCHANGED.
THERE WAS ONE WHERE THE
BLACKMAILER SAID IF YOURE SERIOUS, HE HAD GET READY FOR
YOUR SUICIDE AND SENT JAKE
ANOTHER PICTURE OF HIM NUDE.
JAKE RESPONDED SO AFTER I PAY
YOU ALMOST $700 AND IM ABOUT TO
KILL MYSELF, YOU STILL WILL POST
IT?
IT?
THE BLACKMAILER SAYS I CAN
ALWAYS PRETEND TO YOU. TALK DIRTY TO YOUR FRIENDS AND
SEND THAT.
SEND THAT.
YOU HAD DINNER WITH YOUR SON THE
DAY BEFORE HE TOOK HIS OWN LIFE?
>> YEAH.
>> HOW WAS HE, OR LUNCH? >> IT WAS THE NORMAL JAKE THAT
IVE ALWAYS KNOWN.
I MEAN WE WOULD KID EACH OTHER
ALL THE TIME.
WE EVEN TALKED ABOUT AFTER
EATING THAT, HEY, LETS GO
GOLFING.
GOLFING.
LETS GO HIT A BUCKET OF BALLS. IT WAS JUST -- IT WAS HIM.LLS.
IT WAS JUST -- IT WAS HIM. NO DIFFERENCE IN HIM.
BUT I THINK HE WAS UNDER SO MUCH
PRESSURE AT THE TIME.
NOTHING I COULD PICK UP ON.
>> THIS WAS A CLOSE FAMILY.
CINDY AND JAKE HAD TAKEN A TRIP
TOGETHER, JUST THE TWO OF THEM,
SHORTLY BEFORE THIS ALL
HAPPENED.
HAPPENED.
IT WASNT LIKE THIS WAS NOT AN ATTENTIVE SET OF PARENTS, AND HE
WAS A GOOD BOY.
HE HAD NEVER HAD TROUBLE BEFORE. HE WAS MAYBE A LATE BLOOMER, HE.
HE WAS MAYBE A LATE BLOOMER, HE HAD JUST HAD HIS FIRST KISS
SHORTLY BEFORE THIS AT AGE 21,
BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE LATE
BLOOMERS.
BLOOMERS.
SO THAT -- THE NIGHT YOU GET THE
CALL, WHO CALLED YOU TO TELL YOU
WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
>> SO IM AT SCHOOL DOING
GRADES, AND I GET A CALL FROM THE POLICE. I GET A CALL FROM
THE POLICE. THEY JUST SAID DO YOU HAVE A
PLACE IN KENOSH?
I SAID YES.
DO YOU HAVE A SON NAMED JAKE?
I SAID YES.
AND AT THAT POINT I WAS LIKE,
OH, HES THERE AND THEY DONT
KNOW WHO HE IS BECAUSE ITS A SMALL TOWN AND THEYRE WONDERING
WHOS IN THIS HOUSE, DID HE
BREAK IN OR WHATEVER.
AND THEN THEY JUST SAID, WELL,
YOUR SON HAS TAKEN HIS LIFE IN
YOUR HOUSE.
YOUR HOUSE. AND I JUST SAID IT CANT -- IT
CANT BE.
CANT BE.
I WAS JUST WITH HIM SATURDAY. THIS HAPPENED IN FIVE DAYS.Y.
THIS HAPPENED IN FIVE DAYS. I JUST SAID IT CANT BE BECAUSE
MY SON WOULDNT DO THAT.
HE WASNT SAD, HE WASNT
DEPRESSED.
DEPRESSED.
IT JUST DIDNT MAKE SENSE.
AND I ARGUED WITH THEM UNTIL HE FINALLY SAID -- YOU KNOW, I SAID
IF ITS -- IF ITS REALLY HIM,
THEN WHAT DOES HIS CAR LOOK
LIKE?
LIKE?
SO THEY DESCRIBED HIS CAR. AND AT THAT POINT I JUST WENT
SCREAMING OUT OF MY SCHOOL AND
JUST -- THEY HAD TO STOP ME AND
I WAS JUST HYSTERICAL BECAUSE IT
JUST DIDNT MAKE SENSE, YOU
KNOW.
KNOW.
HE WAS A HAPPY KID.
>> AND THE INCREDIBLE UNFAIRNESS OF IT. THE INCREDIBLE UNFAIRNESS
OF IT.
THE INCREDIBLE, YOU KNOW, HERES
YOUR SON, AS I UNDERSTAND THIS, I HAVE THREE KIDS OF MY OWN, I,
I HAVE THREE KIDS OF MY OWN, I HAVE TWO BOYS.
THIS BEAUTIFUL BOY, WITH A
BEAUTIFUL BODY.
BEAUTIFUL BODY. THERES NOTHING WRONG WITH
NUDITY.
NUDITY.
YOU KNOW, HE SENT A PICTURE OF
HIMSELF NUDE, WHICH IS NO CRIME,
TO THE WRONG PERSON, BUT WAS GUILTED BY THIS OTHER PERSON TO
THE POINT WHERE HE THOUGHT HE
HAD SO MUCH RIDING ON THAT PHOTO
AND ITS PUBLICATION AND WHAT WAS
GOING TO BE DONE TO HIS FAMILY
AS A RESULT OF IT.
AND THE QUESTION NOW IS
ACCOUNTABILITY, BECAUSE JAKE,
BEFORE HE TOOK HIS LIFE, LEFT
BEHIND CLUES AS TO WHAT HAD
HAPPENED TO HIM, WHO DID IT, AND
THE QUESTION WE HAVE TODAY IS
WHY IS THIS PERSON STILL OUT
THERE.
THERE.
WHY ARE THEY STILL OUT THERE
POSSIBLY EXTORTING OTHERS RIGHT
NOW?
THAT PART OF THE STORY IS NEXT.