In a first for the state of South Carolina, on Monday a Nigerian man extradited to the U.S. over the weekend was arraigned on a five-count indictment in a sextortion case that led to the death of a Rock Hill lawmaker's 17-year-old son.
Federal prosecutors have accused 24-year-old Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal of posing as a teenage girl on social media and coercing Gavin Guffey to send compromising photos, then extorting and harassing him to send more money.
Gavin died in 2022 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Prosecutors said Lawal continued to extort Gavin's family, including his brother.
Lawal appeared in Columbia's federal courthouse Monday wearing a bright orange jail jumpsuit, shackled at his wrists and ankles. He was accompanied by U.S. Marshals.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Shiva Hodges read Lawal his charges that includes child exploitation resulting in death, which carries a mandatory 30-year sentence.
Lawal issued a plea of not guilty after he was assigned a public defender.
He will continue to be held without bail. His next court hearing is Monday.
Lawal faces up to life in prison after the death penalty was taken off of the table, part of an agreement negotiated with the Nigerian government and the victim's family.
"I can think of no set of circumstances that would persuade me to release you in this case (at Monday's detention hearing)," Hodges told Lawal, who has no housing or income.
The facts of this case, Hodges said, is "every parents worst nightmare."
Gavin brought joy to everyone, his father, state Rep. Brandon Guffey told reporters.
He would make costumes and wear them to school, Guffey said.
Gavin loved art, music and movies, and he "sticker-bombed" everything, he added.
He walked to the beat of his own drum, Guffey said.
"Gavin just lit up a room," Guffey said.
Gavin's case, while perhaps unique to South Carolina, is not unique nationally.
In 2024, two Nigerian men were sentenced to prison for a sex extortion scheme resulting in the 2022 death of 17-year-old Jordan DeMay. Similar to Gavin's story, the two men solicited explicit images of DeMay and threatened to release the photos to get money.
Guffey said he knows of many other cases.
In 2023, Guffey successfully passed Gavin's Law to stiffens penalties for sexual extortion.
"Sextortion is claiming too many young lives. And I'd like to say to the public, we need your help," U.S. Attorney of South Carolina Adair Ford Boroughs said Monday. "Parents and caregivers, please start this conversation with your children. Predators are on social media platforms, they are on gaming sites, they are online, in chatrooms. Anywhere where you can communicate with people on the internet, you will find predators."
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