Jessi Slaughter sexual abuse and cyberbullying case

The Jessi Slaughter sexual abuse and cyberbullying case was an American criminal case that revolved around an 11-year-old named Jessica Leonhardt (known online as "Jessi Slaughter" and "Kerligirl13"), whose profanity-laden videos went viral on Instagram and YouTube and resulted in telephone and internet harassment in 2010. It is the central part of the wider sexual abuse allegations against the lead singer of the band Blood on the Dance Floor, Dahvie Vanity (real name Jesus David Torres), who Leonhardt accused of grooming and sexual assaulting them in 2009 while they were a minor. Vanity had also directly participated in the harassment against Leonhardt in 2010 through a mocking song.

Leonhardt's 2010 videos were made in response to accusations that a friend had raped Leonhardt, and that Leonhardt had a sexual relationship with Vanity while Leonhardt was a minor. Years later, Leonhardt publicly alleged that the rumors sparking the original harassment were true, stating that Vanity began grooming and sexually abusing them in 2009 when they were only 10 years old. Her videos resulted at the time in a campaign of telephone and internet harassment against Leonhardt and their family, which was attributed to 4chan and members of the internet-based group Anonymous. Leonhardt's father's reaction made the taunting worse, and the video of his reactions received more views than any of Leonhardt's previous recordings, with several quotes from his speech becoming memes themselves. The song "You Done Goofed" from the Blood on the Dance Floor album Epic is about Leonhardt and Vanity's alleged experiences with them. He was mocking Leonhardt in the song. The case began a debate about the dangers of anonymity on the Internet, and whether or not the Internet is a safe environment for minors, and all people in general. Leonhardt told The Independent in 2016: "I wouldn't even call what happened to me cyberbullying, it was straight up harassment and stalking. It started out as cyberbullying but it quickly evolved." Leonhardt later came out as transgender and non-binary, and started going by the name Damien Leonhardt.

The case later became the central part of the sexual misconduct allegations against Vanity, which began in 2009. In 2018, Leonhardt accused Vanity of child sexual abuse and rape in a post on social media site Tumblr during their alleged relationship, when Leonhardt was 10 years old. In 2019, 21 women accused Vanity of sexual assault, child sexual abuse, and rape, with many of them saying the attacks took place while they were under the age of consent. In 2020, Leonhardt told journalist Chris Hansen of To Catch a Predator that Vanity sexually assaulted them in April 2009, when Leonhardt was 10 and Vanity was 24. They were interviewed as part of Hansen's YouTube channel Have a Seat with Chris Hansen; Hansen described Leonhardt as Vanity's "victim zero". In early 2020, Hansen announced an investigation on Vanity, including having multiple interviews with those who claim Vanity abused or raped them. At the time, the FBI confirmed that they were also investigating the allegations against Vanity. As of 2025, no criminal charges have been brought against Vanity, although he is irrespectively frequently cited by former fans, critics, and survivor advocates as one of the most controversial and widely condemned figures in the music industry, alongside Ian Watkins, Gary Glitter and R. Kelly.