Tragic case of sextortion: How 17-year-old Mac Holdsworth’s story sparked calls for social media reform

Last year, 17-year-old Mac Holdsworth received a friend request from a teenage girl on social media.

The Melbourne teen accepted her request and the pair began talking on Instagram. After 30 minutes, she sent him nude photos.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Wayne Holdsworth lashes Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg.

He sent photos in return — and things would never be the same after that.

Because Mac wasn’t talking to a teenage girl. Instead, he was messaging her 47-year-old uncle, who used her pictures to trick Mac into sharing his own personal photos.

The man was eventually caught and charged. But Mac did not live to make his victim statement — instead, his father stood in court for him.

On October 24, 2023, Mac died by suicide. A year on, this is what his father Wayne Holdsworth wants you to know.

Minutes after Mac shared the photo of himself, his account was hacked and he was called from an unknown number he assumed was the teenage girl to whom he thought he was talking.

However, there was a man on the other end of the phone who told him he would share Mac’s photo with everyone on his social media followers list if Mac did not pay him $500.

Mac sent the money to the bank account as instructed, but the phone rang once more and the man demanded another $500.

He said he would share the photo with Mac’s friends and family.

“He said: ‘Your parents will hate you and you’ll want to kill yourself’,” Wayne recounted. “They’re the words that he used.”

When Mac went to his father and told him what had happened, Wayne held his son while reassuring him he wasn’t in trouble and that no one would judge him.

“I put my arms around him and hugged him,” Wayne said.

“You’re the victim,” he told Mac. “I put my arms around him and I felt the wetness on my shoulder that he was crying.

“And the phone rang whilst we were comforting each other, and it was that man again.”

Wayne answered the phone and had a “heated” conversation with the 47-year-old.

“He said, ‘I hope you die and I hope your son dies’,” Wayne said.

Mac was worried he would have to go to football training the next night, and that all his friends would be sent the photo. They eventually were.

“They all got around him that night and supported him, but it wasn’t the same.

“He felt really embarrassed and felt as though he wasn’t worthy anymore.”

Justice served?

Wayne took Mac to the police station, where they reported everything, but officers privately told Wayne they were unsure they would be able to catch the man.

“Mac was never the same,” Wayne said. “He became withdrawn. He became very introverted.“

Mac stopped doing things he loved, such as riding his bike, Wayne said.

“He hadn’t ridden his bike in months (when he died),” he said.

“For Father’s Day, and my birthdays for an example, (he) used to get an A4 piece of paper and fold it.

“And on the front he would draw something about him and I, maybe kicking the football or bowling cricket balls or whatever.

“But in the inside ... it would say, dear dad, and some of the words that he used in those cards were just beautiful.

“And in the September before he took his life, it was Father’s Day and he didn’t provide one of those cards.

“And I quietly asked him, ‘Where’s the card?’

“And he said, Dad, I can’t write them anymore because I can’t trust that the words I write in them are not going to be shared.

“So he lost total trust in people as well.”

Three days after reporting the incident, police arrested the NSW man responsible for sextorting Mac.

Wayne sat in court months later on January 24, where the 47-year-old claimed to be the victim.

“Mac was asked to give a victim impact statement,” Wayne said. “He didn’t live to do that.”

The 47-year-old was caught after using his own bank account to steal Mac’s money instead of that of the larger cartel of which he was a part.

“He said, I plead guilty, but I’m the victim,” Wayne said. “Because the cartel was after him.”

“I started shaking at that point, because that was the voice that answered the phone when I picked up the phone.”

Wayne said the 47-year-old was allowed to plead to a lesser charge and spent just six months in jail for sextorting Mac, using nude photos of his 15-year-old niece to do so.

“He’s out now.”

‘I could have saved him’

Wayne believes in his heart he could have done more to save his boy. No amount of reassurance that his tender response to his son’s distress will change this belief — and he now devotes his spare time to preventing other kids from falling victim to the same predators who targeted his son.

“There’s a number of things that caused Mac to take his life, but (the sextortion) was one of them.

“There’s apparently never just one thing, but that was one significant thing, and I noticed the difference in my boy.

“If I’d known then what I know now, I feel like I could have saved him,” he said.

Wayne runs SmackTalk, a charity focused on mental health support and suicide prevention.

SmackTalk educates both children and adults on how to navigate social media.

Wayne has backed measures like the proposed youth social media ban, saying if it saves one life, it will be worth it.

Both government and cultural change is required, he said.

While his work focuses on ensuring kids are safe on social media, he does not believe children should have smartphones until they are 18.

“Their brains aren’t formed to be able to make rational decisions,” he said.

“We don’t allow drivers to drive without a safety belt. We don’t allow paedophiles to walk into our kids’ bedrooms for hours.

“We allow this on social media. The tech giants allow those sorts of people to go on, anyone could be susceptible to that. It’s very very dangerous.”

He is extremely critical of tech giants such as Meta, which he says do not do enough to protect children.

Know when to unplug

SmackTalk also provides mental health training to adults, particularly the signs to spot and the questions to ask people who may be struggling.

“It’s about listening to understand and not to respond,” Wayne said. “Knowing the process to follow and what to do.”

While there is a focus on making sure people feel comfortable telling those around them when they are not okay, Wayne said people often don’t know how to offer support.

To mark the anniversary of Mac’s death, Wayne is running the Unplug24 campaign.

Unplug24 challenges people to stay off social media for 24 hours on October 24.

It’s about setting a good example, Wayne said.

“We want to show we’re taking control of social media and social media’s not controlling us,” he said.

You can register for Unplugged 24 on the SmackTalk website, or donate money to support SmackTalk.

If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300 224 636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.