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Ronan Hughes' devastated parents warn of dangers of cyber blackmail

Ronan Hughes was at the Foo Fighters' concert in Slane, less than a week before he took his own life after being blackmailed online by a Nigerian gang
Ronan Hughes was at the Foo Fighters' concert in Slane, less than a week before he took his own life after being blackmailed online by a Nigerian gang Ronan Hughes was at the Foo Fighters' concert in Slane, less than a week before he took his own life after being blackmailed online by a Nigerian gang

THE father of a Co Tyrone schoolboy who took his own life after being blackmailed on social media has described the discovery of his body as the "worst experience of his life".

Gerard Hughes and his wife Teresa have spoken for the first time since the death of their 17-year-old son Ronan less than a fortnight ago, as part of a campaign to warn parents about the dangers of cyber bullying and in a bid to prevent a similar tragedy happening again.

Sitting in their rural Clonoe home outside Coalisland, the devastated couple described their son's online blackmailers as "relentless" – and said they believed he would still be alive if his case had been treated with more urgency by the PSNI.

Pride of place on their mantelpiece is the last photograph of their music-obsessed son – taken just a week before his death - at the Slane festival which Ronan said was the "best night of his life by far" watching his favourite band, the Foo Fighters.

But just days later the young GAA goalkeeper for Clonoe O’Rahilly's, who was one of three children, was tricked into posting images on a social networking site after receiving photographs from a girl.

His distraught parents revealed how Ronan, a pupil at St Joseph's Grammar in Donaghmore, confided in them three days before his death about a fake Facebook account threatening to send the images to his online friends - unless he paid £3,300 within 48 hours.

Following the tragedy, police traced the site to Nigeria and closed it down within two days. For the Hughes’, this was "too late" and feel that police should have acted beforehand.

Recalling his final days, his distraught mother said Ronan was a quiet, happy-go-lucky boy whose favourite hobby since childhood was "rearing ducks". He spent the day before his death caring for 15 new ducklings in the back garden.

Mrs Hughes said the blackmailing incident had changed her son, "terrifying him".

"We decided to speak out as this is something that could have been prevented. A child with mental illness maybe can't be stopped from taking their own life. But to think that Ronan was living life to the full and then all of a sudden something like this can pop up and take his life..that's why we had to act," she said.

"We want there to be changes so if a child is out there is being bullied online they can go to the police or other authorities with their concerns. We don't want another family to go through what we've gone through."

Ronan, a lower-sixth pupil at St Joseph's in Donaghmore, died on the afternoon of Friday, June 5, just hours after learning that his blackmailers had carried out their threat and sent images to a friend.

He left a note for his father directing him to find his body in the "bottom field" behind the family home.

On the Tuesday before the tragedy, Ronan approached his mother shortly before midnight and confided in her.

"There were no warning signs at all prior to that," said Mrs Hughes.

"He came to me and said: 'I’m in trouble here'. He gave me his phone. They were looking more than £3,000 for an image he had posted and told him they were going to show it to all his friends. They had sent him a list of all his Facebook friends. He texted them back to say, 'but I’m only 17'.”

She informed her husband and he immediately took Ronan with him to Dungannon police station – where the gates were closed and a security guard told them there was only one police officer on duty.

Gerard and his son stood for 15 minutes in the cold and eventually a PSNI officer came out to the gates but didn't take them into the station.

"When we were waiting I could still see messages coming up on Ronan's phone threatening him - saying he had less than 47 hours to pay them and that 'time was ticking'. His biggest worry was that his friends would see these images," said Mr Hughes.

"A policeman said to us there was very little they could do, as he was there on his own that night. He scribbled down a few notes and told us to ignore the blackmail. He told us to come back the next morning.

"I knew Ronan was looking for help and I told him that all my son wanted is for these images not to be posted. He told us that he couldn't guarantee that. For Ronan, it was totally dismissive.

"If the police had given Ronan reassurance and said 'we'll contact IT experts, we’ll close this down, we'll stop that' – Ronan would still be here today. That’s why he came to us. He wanted help."

Mr Hughes said he began to worry about his son's state of mind on the car journey home when Ronan turned to him and said: "I think I’ve just committed social suicide, dad."

The following morning, Mrs Hughes and Ronan returned to the police station where they spent several hours.

Once again, they were told to ignore the blackmail deadline and Ronan's phone was taken by police.

"They asked to see the images and I left the room," said Mrs Hughes.

"Neither myself nor Gerard have seen the images and don’t want to."

The couple said they anxiously waited for the police to get in touch over the next two days but didn’t hear anything.

"We were very disappointed but we sat Ronan down down and told him that if the images were published it would blow over in a couple of weeks and we'd deal with it. We told him it wasn’t the end of the world," added Mr Hughes.

"I had a chat with him on the Thursday night. I asked him if he was okay about the fact the images might appear the next morning and he replied, 'whatever'. He had changed. He had accepted that it wasn't going to be sorted and he was going to have live with it. That's what I thought. I never thought he would go down the route he went down."

On the day of her son's death, Mrs Hughes received a telephone call from Ronan who said that his friend contacted him to alert him that she had received a link containing private images - but she had not opened them.

Mrs Hughes tried to reassure her son and told him "not to worry" and immediately rang her husband who was working in Keady.

An emotional Mr Hughes said he had a "bad feeling" and asked his boss if he could leave work early.

"I knew coming down the road…something was telling me in my heart I was going to find him. My biggest fear was how I was going to find him and how I was going to tell Teresa. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"He was always sitting in an armchair in the living room with his headphones on. I didn't see him. I came in through the front door and shouted for him. I went into the kitchen and the lap-top was sitting open and a pile of notes sitting. I grabbed the notes…I wrecked the house looking for him.

"There on one of the notes for me he'd written ‘back field’. I knew instantly where he was. That was the worst experience of my life, going round that corner. I can’t get it out of my head at all.

"If those images hadn't been posted that Friday morning, I know that Ronan would still be sitting here."

Mr Hughes said the next hour was "a blur" and his first concern was to get his son covered which he did with the help of his two neighbours.

He asked neighbours to go and find his wife, who was returning from work, as he wanted to keep her away from Ronan's body.

Mr Hughes also ensured that no-one told Ronan’s brother Cathal (21) and younger sister, Liza (13) as he wanted to break the news himself.

In the 10 days since Ronan's death the grieving couple say they have been overwhelmed by the support they have received from their neighbours and parish, as well as the local clergy, including Fr Fee and Fr McCallion.

"The support we have received from the GAA community has also been outstanding, especially Ronan’s club. The school have also been so supportive," added Mr Hughes.

"We have been especially comforted by people going forward who have lost children through suicide. Just last night a woman from Co Clare rang Fr Fee to say she had lost a child three years ago in similar circumstances. We're getting letters from all over.

"On the day of Ronan’s death, the local police officers and paramedics were also excellent and we now have a very supportive PSNI family liaison officer."

The couple said they wanted the media to respect their privacy and said they needed time to grieve.

Mr Hughes added: “The biggest point we want to get across is how naive parents are in relation to social media. There’s no point in a parent taking a phone off a child when they don’t know what they’re doing themselves or how to access the technology themselves.

“My 13-year-old knows more than I do and it’s not right. We just don’t want this tragedy to happen to anyone else.”

In a statement last night the PSNI said they planned to meet the Hughes family in the coming days.

Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Hanna said: "This is a tragic case and our sympathies go to Ronan's family. We acknowledge the concerns the family have raised and hope to meet with them in the coming days to further discuss these issues.

"The office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is also best placed to deal with any complaints in relation to police actions.

"Our enquiries are continuing into what will be a complex and protracted investigation and we will keep the family informed of any progress as appropriate."

The senior detective said there had been "much conversation" in recent days about the steps young people need to to take to stay safe online.

"I would urge anyone who has experienced anything of a similar nature or has received any inappropriate images or links to contact police or tell a trusted adult," he said

“We all deserve to be able to use the internet to learn, explore and connect with each other. But all of us need to be aware of the risks involved in doing so, especially on social media."

Sinn Féin Mid Ulster MLA Michelle O'Neill, who has been liasing with the family and set up the meeting between the family and the PSNI, said:"Since Ronan's death, a number of people have come forward to say their child has been a victim of cyber bullying.

"Practices need to be improved in relation to internet crime to raise awareness and let people know what practical measures they can take to educate young people and their parents."

Facebook meanwhile have said the company does not "comment on individual cases".

Any child affected by these issues can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or Lifeline on 0808 808 8000