Nigerian brought to S.C. to face charges in tragic ‘sextortion’ case
LUMBIA, S.C. - A man accused of extorting the 17-year-old son of a state lawmaker has been arraigned in South Carolina.
The suspect is accused of posing as a girl to convince the teenage boy to send intimate photos of himself, then blackmailing the boy to keep the pictures private.
The ordeal drove the teenager, Gavin Guffey, the son of South Carolina Rep. Brandon Guffey, R-York, to kill himself in 2022.
Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, of Osun State, Nigeria, has been extradited to the United States to face prosecution.
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A five-count federal indictment charges Lawal with child exploitation resulting in death, the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of a minor, cyberstalking resulting in death, interstate threats with intent to extort, and aiding/abetting.
In addition to victimizing the teen in every count, the indictment alleges Lawal targeted the minor victim’s family in the stalking and extortion charges.
Lawal faces up to life in prison, and mandatory minimum prison sentences on multiple counts.
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The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in South Carolina in October 2023. On Jan. 24, following extradition proceedings in Nigeria, agents with the FBI Columbia Field Office took custody of Lawal in Nigeria and executed the removal with assistance from Nigerian law enforcement.
The boy’s father discussed the case Monday in a news conference.
“Gavin seemed to bring joy to everyone,” Guffey said. “You didn’t meet anyone who didn’t have a story about Gavin...He just lit up a room.”
As his family investigated his death, they found Gavin had been communicating online with a stranger named Bellajane28, who was posing as a college volleyball player.
The stranger was not a college-aged girl but Lawal.
He was extradited and taken to the United States on Saturday.
Lawal entered a “not guilty” plea to the charges presented, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Judge Hodges told Lawal she “can think of no set of circumstances that would persuade [her] to release [him].”
Prosecutors said during the arraignment, they found Lawal sent messages to six other minors under different screen names.
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Messages found on Lawal’s phone showed communications between Gavin and Lawal where Gavin said he was “scared” and “[had] a gun in [his] lap.”
“We will not allow predators who target our children to hide behind a keyboard or across the ocean,” said U.S. Attorney Adair Boroughs for the District of South Carolina. “Today we honor Gavin’s life and continue our fight against sextortion by holding this defendant able.”
The defendant has a detention hearing set for Monday, Feb. 3, at 2 p.m.
Following Gavin’s death, Rep. Guffey worked with state legislators to “Gavin’s Law”, which made sexual extortion, commonly known as “sextortion”, a felony offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison in South Carolina.
The law went into effect in 2023 after being signed by Gov. Henry McMaster.
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