CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS HANSEN, TRU BLU MEDIA
The man who helped to orchestrate Marquette County’s underage sex sting back in August is working on a new project.
Chris Hansen says he will soon release a documentary on Jordan DeMay, the Marquette teenager who committed suicide last year after being victimized by a Nigerian sextortion scam.
“Our project is starting to wrap up,” Hansen, a long-time national investigative reporter told RRN News. “In my time in Marquette with the sheriff, and with Jordan’s parents, I bonded with both parents. My heart breaks for them. Nobody deserves this, and it shouldn’t have happened.”
U.S. Attorney Mark Totten says that DeMay was tricked into sharing nude photos of himself late at night on Instagram in March, 2022, with who he thought was an attractive young lady.
Authorities say it was actually two Nigerian brothers who then tried to get money from DeMay. When he couldn’t pay the full amount that was requested, DeMay killed himself. This case sent shock waves across the country, and led many to ask how this could happen to such a popular and well-liked kid.
“It happened because criminals a half a world away were able to, get into Marquette, Michigan, and get inside Jordan’s head, and embarrass him, and extort him to the point where he thought there was no way out,” Hansen said. “There’s been a sense of inpunity for so many years because they operate in an area of Nigeria, sometimes, where there’s no criminal prosecution. That changed in the Jordan DeMay case.”
That’s because three suspects were arrested in Nigeria, and two of them have already been extradited to Michigan to face charges in DeMay’s death. He says this could send a message to others who may try to do the same thing to other people.
“It’s going to set a precedent for future cases,” Hansen said. “This is the first time in history, that I’m aware of, that one of these Nigerian sextortionist scam artists have been arrested and sent to Michigan to face charges. This will send a signal to others. Law enforcement has done an amazing job. While we can never take away that hurt that the parents will always feel over this, and the loss to the entire (Upper Peninsula) community, we can at least make sure that there’s some sense of justice here.”
Hansen says his documentary will not only be about DeMay, but about three other teenaged boys who also were victims of similar scams. Those teenaged boys killed themselves in California, Ohio, and South Carolina, and Hansen traveled across the country to gather information on all of those cases.
“They were all great kids, all good students, all good athletes, all contributing members of their school societies,” Hansen said. “We are going to stay on this story to create awareness. When I approach a project like this, it’s not just as a journalist, it’s as a parent. It’s heartbreaking. It’s really hit home for me, and it is a passion project. It’s something that I care deeply about, and people will be able to see the work very soon.”
He says that he and his TruBlu Media staff are in the final editing process and should have more information on when the documentary will air within the next few weeks. Hansen also plans to do a special edition of the documentary that he will give, free of charge, to any school that wants it to share with their students.
“My message to parents and teachers and coaches is to tell kids that if you get into this situation, it’s not life-altering,” Hansen said. “It’s not life-ending. It’s not worth attempting suicide. In two weeks, people will have forgotten what happened. And one of the tragic aspects of this is that it happens to the good kids who care about their grades, and care about athletics, and care about what their parents think of them. Just for a short period of time, they don’t see a way out of it, and they, sadly choose to take their own lives.”
We will let you know here at the Radio Results Network as soon as Hansen’s documentary will be available for viewing.
Comments