Kriti Mehrotra
The case of Ryan Vallee is as enraging as it is emotional, owing to the simple fact that he harassed at least 23 teen girls — most of whom he personally knew — over five years for his sick pleasure. He actually used aliases such as “Seth Williams” during his attempts to threaten them, all in the hopes of it resulting in him receiving explicit photos. As profiled on Netflix’s ‘Web of Make Believe: Death Lies and the Internet: Sextortion,’ Jannesa Mingo and Kristina Waterman were two such young women on his radar, but they eventually managed to take back the entire power, so here’s what we know about them.
Who Are Jannesa Mingo and Kristina Waterman?
Being just 15 or 16 when it started back in 2011, neither Jannesa nor Kristina thought too much before accepting a friend request from a random guy named “Seth Williams” on Facebook. Jannesa did notice “he looked kind of cute,” as per the Netflix original episode, whereas Kristina had the carefree outlook of “Whatever, what’s another friend?,” especially as he seemed their age. Thus began the conversations and constant messaging, only for it to quickly go from compliments as well as sweet, deep discussions to him aggressively demanding pictures of sexual nature.
Thinking he was generally a nice guy, Jannesa did send him pictures of her backside, first “with the pants on and then with the pants off,” according to the Netflix production. However, once she drew the line at nudes, things escalated — “Seth” hacked her Facebook as well as email account before resolving to threats and sending her explicit images to people she knew. Jannesa tried changing her phone number, yet he always found a way to contact her, so after he sent her photos of his other victims, she was left with no choice but to tell her mother and report it to the police.
As for Kristina, similar things happened to her with her nude images, but “Seth’s” messages, which she got once a week or sometimes every other day for months, bothered her the most. As per the show, Kristina actually reached a point where she begged her mother to let her kill herself. That’s when her mother learned of the situation and ensured the matter was reported to the police. Kristina had previously confided in just one person, someone she thought was a school friend, the “quiet and timid” Ryan Vallee, yet it ultimately came to light that Ryan was “Seth” himself.
Where Are Jannesa Mingo and Kristina Waterman Now?
Kristina was obviously upset once she got to know the identity of her perpetrator because she thought Ryan was her friend the whole time, which was probably the hardest part for her. Jannesa knew him by riding the school bus with him, and she revealed in Netflix’s ‘Web of Make Believe’ that she often went out of the way to be nice to him since he was an outcast. They both spoke at his sentencing hearing in 2017, with the latter indicating that even though the emotional scars he left on her will remain, he didn’t diminish or destroy her because she’s still standing.
From what we can tell, Jannesa Mingo currently leads a happy life in Franklin, New Hampshire, alongside her partner and newborn son. She’s juggling not just motherhood with her relationship but also her work as an aspiring makeup artist, a receptionist, and a promotional specialist, and she’s proud of every single aspect.
Coming to Kristina, she’s based in Lakeport, New Hampshire, at the moment, where she’s a retail distribution associate, a full-time mother, and a partner doing her best to provide a good life for her loved ones. More importantly, as revealed in the Netflix original, her self-love journey is proving fruitful. “I’m a stronger person for sure,” she said, “…and to love myself for the first time in a long time; it feels really good, and I’m proud of myself.”
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