Parent testifies to conference committee that online sextortion led to son’s suicide; lawmakers hear but take no immediate vote on inclusion of Senate File 281

Jamie Bremseth, a mental health professional and Olivia, Minnesota, resident, told the Minnesota Legislature's Public Safety and Judiciary Conference Committee on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, that her son died by suicide after he was sexually and financially extorted online and urged lawmakers to hold perpetrators accountable and consider including Senate File 281, which relates to the coercion crime, in the conference committee report.

Bremseth said her son, Carter, died on Dec. 5, 2021. She described a rapid sequence of online grooming and coercion that began on Instagram, moved to Snapchat, and in less than an hour led to demands for explicit images and money. Bremseth told the committee she read the exchanges and that the perpetrator shamed and threatened Carter and later demanded additional money; she said he was asked for an initial $200 and then more. “She absolutely tortured him,” Bremseth said. “My son’s life mattered.”

In her testimony Bremseth said law enforcement later told the family the perpetrator was based in Nigeria and that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the case. She said she has met other parents who lost children to sextortion and told lawmakers she believes national deaths tied to sextortion number “close to 45 or 46” children; Bremseth attributed that figure to what she has learned since her son’s death.

Why this matters: Bremseth framed her testimony as a plea for lawmakers to adopt or strengthen criminal accountability for online coercion and extortion targeting children. Her account was presented in a public hearing as the conference committee considered whether to include language related to the coercion crime in its report.

Committee response and subsequent action: Committee leadership thanked Bremseth for her testimony and for going public about her loss; no committee member moved to adopt Senate File 281 during the hearing. The committee then moved on to adopt several other conference-report language items by voice vote.

Votes at a glance (voice votes taken; no roll-call recorded in the transcript): - Adoption of Article 4, R17 (House language lines 48.1–48.25). Motion by Chair Novotny to expand existing law so that local jail inmates convicted of assaulting a sheriff’s correctional officer would serve that sentence consecutively to the underlying sentence; motion carried by voice vote (motion prevailed). The transcript does not record a roll-call tally. - Adoption of Article 5, R11 (Senate language lines 101.1–102.4) with changes described by Senator Wesselen. The changes included replacing wording to align with house language (deleting “preserve and protect” and inserting “document”) and inserting “active” before “search” to read “active search for a missing person.” Senator Westlund commented that the language reflected a compromise between house and senate versions; motion carried by voice vote. - Adoption of amendment coded SCS 1609A3 and direction to insert that language in the conference report. Motion described by a member of the committee to ensure resentencing rules tied to changes made in 2023 and clarified in 2024 (regarding felony murder aiding and abetting and retroactivity) retain the original conviction date and apply retroactively to resentencings on or after Aug. 1, 2023; motion carried by voice vote.

What was not decided: The transcript records Bremseth’s testimony and the committee’s acknowledgement but does not show a formal committee vote on placing Senate File 281 in the conference committee report during this session. Committee members said they were “digesting” the testimony and asked Bremseth to remain available if further questions arose, but no directive to staff or formal action on SF 281 is recorded in the provided transcript.

Details from testimony and clarifications provided during the hearing: Bremseth said Carter did not have diagnosed depression or clinical anxiety and that he enjoyed golf, family and friends, and future plans. She described the grooming as purposeful and rapid, moving platforms and escalating to money demands and threats to share images. She said the family continues to work with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on the investigation and that at least one other Minnesota family has lost a child to financial sextortion but has chosen not to be public.

Context: The committee meeting lasted about 15 minutes in the provided transcript excerpt. Members spent the remainder of the session adopting conference-report language items where committee members indicated they had reached sufficient agreement or wanted to carry language forward for further negotiation. Several members noted outstanding discussions (for example, language relating to fleeing individuals) that they planned to continue working on with stakeholders.

The testimony and the subsequent adoption votes recorded in the transcript are limited to what is recorded on May 13; the committee did not register a recorded roll-call for the adoptions in the excerpt and did not finalize a decision on Senate File 281 during this session.