Samuel and Samson Ogushi, two suspects tied to an international sextortion ring that allegedly drove a Michigan high-schooler to suicide have been extradited to the US from Nigeria, officials announced Sunday — along with startling dismal statistics about similar crimes.
Samuel Ogoshi, 22, and Samson Ogoshi, 20, arrived at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., at 11:15 a.m. local time Sunday, US Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced at a press conference.
A third defendant, Ezekiel Ejehem Robert,19, is still in the process of being extradited, but officials are “optimistic” that he will also be brought to the US, Totten added.
Totten’s office announced a federal indictment May 3 that charged all three men with conspiracy to sexually exploit minors, conspiracy to distribute child pornography and conspiracy to commit stalking through the internet in relation to a sextortion plot that targeted more than 100 young men and teen boys in the United States.
One of their alleged victims, 17-year-old Jordan DeMay, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound March 25, 2022, after an Instagram account purportedly run by the three Nigerian men threatened to release explicit photos of the teen if he did not pay $1,000.
For DeMay’s death, Samuel Ogoshi is additionally charged with sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Federal authorities, in announcing the extraditions Sunday, warned that such sextortion crimes have soared since COVID-19.
“The number of sextortion cases involving children and teens being threatened and coerced into sending explicit images online has more than doubled since the pandemic,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan Devin Kowalski.
Kowalski urged young people and adults to exercise caution online and “reduce stigma” so that more predators can be brought to light.
“If you believe [you] or your loved one has been financially sextorted, first remember the predator is to blame, not your child or you,” he said.
Kowalski also told young people that there “is life after sending pictures” and urged those who may have compromising pictures of themselves on the internet to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s “Take It Down” program.
Both Kowalski and Totten repeatedly thanked DeMay’s family for supporting the investigation.
“My son was smart. He was a good student. He was a great athlete,” DeMay’s father, John DeMay, told Fox News Digital in June.
“Someone came to his bedroom at 3 in the morning and murdered him through Instagram when we were all sleeping at night, and we had zero chance to stop it.”
Source: NY Post
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