Gavin Guffey, the teenage son of South Carolina Rep. Brandon Guffey, died by suicide due to being harassed by the suspect, investigators said.
ROCK HILL, S.C. โ A 24-year-old man from Nigeria was extradited to South Carolina to face federal charges in connection with an online sextortion scheme that led to the death of a state lawmaker’s teenage son in 2022.ย
Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, from Osun State, Nigeria, allegedly posed as a young woman on social media to coerce 17-year-old Gavin Guffey into sending compromising photos. Prosecutors sayย Lawal then threatened to release the photos unless Guffey sent him money. The harassment extended to members of Guffey’s family. The teen died by suicide in July 2022.ย
Lawal was arrested on Thursday and arrived in the U.S. on Saturday, Jan. 25.ย
“The defendant hid behind a screen in Nigeria and terrorized Guffey, his family and friends by threatening to release harmful images of him,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Steve Jensen said. “These alleged actions are reprehensible and there is zero tolerance for predatory behavior going unchecked.”
Lawal was indicted by a federal grand jury on five counts, including child exploitation resulting in death, cyberstalking resulting in death and interstate threats with intent to extort. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison with one charge carrying a mandatory minimum 30-year sentence. Prosecutors said they will not seek the death penalty as part of an agreement with the Nigerian government to serve the indictment.ย
Rep. Brandon Guffey, Gavin’s father, introduced legislation in 2022 to crack down on sexual exportation. Guffey said his son fell victim to someone he thought he could trust. He said the suspect pretended to be a woman at another college on Instagram, stealing photos that had been taken by another device that were used to extort his son for money.ย
“There are no words for the hurt and the anger that you feel,” Guffey said.ย
Guffey said the scammers attempted to extort his family in the weeks after his son’s death.ย
“I mean to go as far as to send me a message less than 30 days after Gavin’s death to say did I tell you your son begged for his life shows you how evil these people can be,” Guffey said. “There’s no telling how many other kids they have targeted.”
In 2024, Guffey filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging that Facebook and Instagram’s parent company failed his son by not implementing tools like age verification and effective parent controls. It also claimed the apps contribute to children’s mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety.ย
Sextortion, defined as the practice of extorting money from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity, is a growing issue nationwide.ย
The FBI reported over 13,000 casesย between October 2021 and March 2023.ย
If you or a loved one are facing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, there is help readily available. You can call Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat with them online. There are also resources in North Carolina available here and in South Carolinaย available here.
If your loved one was impacted by this incident, WCNC Charlotte hopes to make this process less painful with our More Than A Number initiative. With your help, we want to share who your loved one was with our viewers in North Carolina and South Carolina. When you’re ready, fill out the form below or send us photos, memories and other details about them to desk@wcnc.com.ย
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