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After more than three years of waiting, advocacy, prayer, and perseverance, Brian Montgomery returns to the nextTalk Parent Podcast with a major update in the fight for justice for his son, Walker.
In December 2022, Walker became the victim of an online sextortion scheme. An online predator posing as a young girl manipulated Walker into a compromising situation and then threatened to expose him. Within hours, Walker died by suicide.
Since then, Brian and his family have courageously shared Walker’s story to warn other families, advocate for stronger protections for children, and help parents understand how quickly online predators can enter a child’s world.
In this conversation with Mandy, Brian shares the years-long journey that led from local law enforcement to the FBI, an arrest in Nigeria, and ultimately the extradition of the alleged perpetrator to the United States. He also shares the unexpected doors that opened through his advocacy—including a conversation with President Donald Trump—and how Brian believes God was working throughout the years of waiting.
But this episode is about more than justice. Brian reflects on how grief, anger, waiting, and advocacy changed his faith and taught him to surrender an outcome he desperately wanted to control.
Mandy and Brian also bring the conversation back home: What can parents do right now to protect their kids?
Guest Bio:
Brian Montgomery is a Mississippi father, farmer, agricultural risk-management professional, and nationally recognized advocate for online child safety.
A Greenville native who now lives with his family in the Starkville area, Montgomery earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural pest management and a master’s in forestry (with an emphasis in remote sensing) from Mississippi State University. He is co-founder of Alliance Ag Risk Management and has spent more than a decade helping Mississippi producers navigate crop insurance and farm risk.
In December 2022 his 16-year-old son, Walker—a Starkville Academy student, athlete, and avid outdoorsman—died by suicide after an overnight Instagram sextortion scheme. That loss became the catalyst for Montgomery’s public work. He has spoken to parents, schools, and lawmakers about how quickly social-media platforms can be used to exploit minors, the tactics predators use, and the practical steps families can take.
Montgomery helped advance two Mississippi laws named for his son: legislation that criminalizes sextortion and the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act, which requires platforms to take reasonable steps to keep harmful content from minors and to give parents greater tools. With the nonprofit nextTalk he launched Walker’s Promise, a simple parental pledge to keep phones and devices out of children’s bedrooms and bathrooms. He has appeared on national and local media, parent-focused podcasts, and school events to share Walker’s story and press for both personal vigilance and platform accountability.
Montgomery speaks from the dual perspective of a parent who lived the worst-case outcome and a professional who understands rural families, technology, and policy. His message is direct: the internet is not a playground, predators operate at industrial scale, and adults—not algorithms—must set the boundaries that keep children safe.
Resources:
- 16 Year Old’s Suicide from Sextortion.How do we protect our kids? - nextTalk: https://nexttalk.org/podcast_episode/16-year-olds-suicide-from-sextortion-how-do-we-protect-our-kids/
- Walker’s Promise: https://nexttalk.org/walkers-promise/
- Talking to Kids about 16yo’s Suicide from Sextortion - nextTalk: https://nexttalk.org/podcast_episode/talking-to-kids-about-16yos-suicide-from-sextortion/
- Guardrails to Protect Kids Online - nextTalk: https://nexttalk.org/podcast_episode/guardrails-to-protect-kids-online/
- Parenting through Grief - nextTalk: https://nexttalk.org/podcast_episode/parenting-through-grief/
- My child was a victim of sextortion. What should I do? - nextTalk: https://nexttalk.org/podcast_episode/my-child-was-a-victim-of-sextortion-what-should-i-do/
- Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA): https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1748/text
- nextTalk Resources: https://nexttalk.org/help/
- Sextortion Awareness: https://nexttalk.org/?s=Sextortion+Awareness&id=6928
Connect with The nextTalk Parent Podcast:
Website: https://nextTalk.org/
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nextTalkorg
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