Inmates accused of sextortion scheme that ended in suicide

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Two South Carolina inmates are charged with blackmailing an Army veteran who then killed himself.

Greenville Police Chief Ken Miller says Lee Correctional Institution inmates John William Dobbins and Carl Richard Smith used contraband cellphones to target Jared Johns.

The Greenville News reports that Johns was sent nude photos through a dating app by people who then claimed the girl was under age and demanded money for not reporting him. His parents said he shot himself minutes after receiving the final threat on Sept. 11, 2018.

Inmates at the prison were caught last week livestreaming on Facebook from contraband phones. The maximum security prison uses a system to manage telecommunication, but State Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling says it’s undermined by wireless companies not notifying the system of changes to call-carrying radio frequencies.

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Information from: The Greenville News, http://www.greenvillenews.com