Teen Sends 144 Tweets About Sexual Abuse, Kills Herself

Ashley Billasono spent six hours on Twitter sending messages about being molested by a family member and then forced into prostitution before taking her own life.

The 18-year-old sent out messages to her 500 Twitter followers in what has been largely seen as an attempt for her to reach out to anyone willing to listen and talk about her ordeal.

According to Fox News Houston none of the young girls followers sought help for her as she sent out 144 messages relating to her rape and forced prostitution.

Billasano spoke with authorities in 2010 about her sexual abuse at the hands of a family member however officials didn’t have enough evidence to press charges, that’s what led Ashley to tweet:

“That’s when I changed … I didn’t care anymore and the people I was meeting gave me no reason to.”

Before taking her own life she announced her suicide on the social network Tweeting:

“I’d love to hear what you have to say, but I won’t be around.”

Her last tweet read:

“I hope I get this right.”

Billasano killed herself with a suffocation technique she read about on the internet.

According to a police spokesman:

‘It’s obvious she needed somebody to talk to and that’s what I believe those tweets were.” The rep continued, “She was trying to communicate and trying to get people to talk to her.”

It’s still unclear if any further efforts can be taken to uncover the truth about her sexual abuse at the hands of her family member. What the issue does reveal is that suicide hotlines and other teen outreach programs need to push more into the 21st century and discover new ways to find and reach out to teens and other internet users in need who spend an increasing amount of time using social media as their main means of communication.