Case 91

Carly Ryan

*** Content Warning: child victim, child sexual assault, grooming ***

In 2006, Myspace was the biggest social media platform in the world, surpassing Google as the most visited website. Like many teenagers, 14-year-old Carly Ryan turned to the internet to interact with friends and meet new people. It wasn’t long before she struck up a friendship with 18-year-old Brandon Kane, who went by the username ‘KuruptKoala.’

Carly was instantly smitten with the Texan-born musician who now lived in Melbourne, an eight-hour drive from her home in the Adelaide Hills. He was everything she’d dreamed of in a boyfriend – a dark and mysterious bad boy with a soft, emotional edge like the rock stars she admired. As Carly’s fifteenth birthday party approached, she didn’t hesitate for a moment to invite Brandon to make the interstate trip.

CREDITS

Casefile Presents

EPISODE:

Research & writing – Elsha McGill

Additional writing – Milly Raso

Narration – Anonymous Host

SPECIAL THANKS:

We would like to add a special thanks credit for Karina Natt and The Carly Ryan Foundation for the help in the creation of this episode.

MUSIC:

‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com

Audio production – Mike Migas

Scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

OTHER:

Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska

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