Nigerian man arraigned in Walker Montgomery case, AG Fitch responds
Federal prosecutors say the charges stem from an online sextortion scheme that led to the 2022 suicide of 16-year-old Walker Montgomery.
- On Friday, Magistrate Judge Jane M. Virden arraigned 26-year-old Adebola Festus Adekunle in Oxford, Mississippi, after his extradition from Nigeria on Thursday with assistance from the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs and FBI.
- Prosecutors allege Adekunle posed as a teenage girl named 'janet_dashay' on Instagram, contacting 16-year-old Walker Montgomery on November 28, 2022, then blackmailing him for $1,000 and threatening to release explicit images to friends and family.
- Federal charges against Adekunle include sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, production of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of a minor, and interstate threats; the child exploitation charge carries a mandatory 30-year prison sentence if convicted.
- Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch stated, 'We made sextortion a crime in Mississippi,' after lawmakers enacted the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act in 2024 requiring social media platforms to verify user age and obtain parental consent for minors.
- Adekunle's arrest is part of Operation Artemis, a global FBI operation targeting financially motivated sextortion rings in Nigeria linked to dozens of American teenage deaths, while Mississippi secured settlements with Meta and Roblox implementing 2-hour daily time limits and harm mitigation strategies.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Nigerian man arraigned in Walker Montgomery case, AG Fitch responds
OXFORD, Miss. (WLBT) – A Nigerian man was arraigned in federal court in Oxford on Friday in connection with a sextortion scheme which resulted in the death of a Starkville, Mississippi teenager. Adebola Festus Adekunle, 26, of Lagos, Nigeria, was extradited to the United States for the alleged criminal acts which led to the suicide of 16-year-old Walker Montgomery. Mississippi father says son’s suicide was result of sextortion scheme(WTVA) Walk…
Nigerian Man Arraigned in Mississippi for Alleged Sextortion That Caused Teen’s Suicide
Adebola Festus Adekunle, a Nigerian man, has been extradited to the U.S. and arraigned for the alleged sextortion that led to Mississippi teen Walker Montgomery’s death. The post Nigerian Man Arraigned in Mississippi for Alleged Sextortion That Caused Teen’s Suicide appeared first on Mississippi Free Press.
BREAKING: In a BIG WIN, the FBI has tracked down and ARRESTED two Nigerian men for s*xually preying upon minors, AG Todd Blanche announces
BLANCHE: "[They] allegedly engaged in financially-motivated s*xtortion of minors resulting in the deaths of two teenage victims—in Mississippi and North Carolina. "Join @SGTnewsNetworkX (Twitter)▪️Truth...
NIgerian national arrested in Mississippi sextortion case - Home - WCBI TV
OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI) – A Nigerian man is now in a Mississippi jail facing Federal charges for his role in a sextortion case that led to the passage of “Walker’s Law” in Mississippi. ADEBOLA FESTUS ADEKUNLE Adebola Festus Adekunle of Lagos, Nigeria has been extradited to the United States. He is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in...
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