Nigerian extradited to US to face charges over nude photo that led to teen's death
South Carolina Rep. Branon Guffey speaks to senators outside the House chamber in Columbia, South Carolina, Wednesday, May 2, 2023. Guffey’s 17-year-old son took his own life in July 2022 after a Nigerian man posed as a woman and then tried to extort the teen after he sent nude photos. Credit: AP/Jeffrey Collins
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A Nigerian man has been extradited to the U.S. and charged with causing the death of a South Carolina teen who took his own life after the suspect posed as a woman and tried to extort the teen after he sent nude photos, prosecutors say.
The teenager was the son of South Carolina Rep. Brandon Guffey, who pushed through a state law making sextortion a felony and has been a vocal critic of how social media companies fail to protect minors from sexual exploitation and attacks online.
In a courtroom in Columbia on Monday, Guffey got to face 24-year-old Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, who was brought to the U.S. from Nigeria on Saturday.
_____
EDITOR’S NOTE — In the U.S., the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
__
'It's depressing, it's frustrating' A Newsday investigation revealed that Grumman Aerospace knew toxic chemicals were leaking into the ground in Bethpage. Newsday Associate Editor Paul LaRocco and Deputy Editor David Schwartz explain.
'It's depressing, it's frustrating' A Newsday investigation revealed that Grumman Aerospace knew toxic chemicals were leaking into the ground in Bethpage. Newsday Associate Editor Paul LaRocco and Deputy Editor David Schwartz explain.
