United States v. Ogoshi

United States v. Ogoshi is a pending case in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. It is considered part of Project Safe Childhood.^[1]

Overview

Death of Jordan DeMay

Jordan John DeMay (June 7, 2004  -  March 25, 2022), a 17-year-old high school student from Marquette, Michigan, was found dead in his bed at his father's home on March 25, 2022. His mother Jennifer Buta received a late-night text message from Jordan reading "Mother, I love you." She wrote him back and got ready for work. By the time she was ready to leave, Jennifer still hadn't heard from Jordan, which she thought was unusual so she reached out to one of Jordan's classmates, who told her Jordan wasn't in school. Jennifer called Jordan's father John DeMay and asked him to check on Jordan around 7:30 a.m. John went to Jordan's room, where he found Jordan in his bed. Jordan had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had shot himself about four hours prior.

After their son's death, John and Jennifer learned he'd been a victim of sextortion. A group of men from Nigeria had posed a young woman on Instagram using the handle dani.robertss. As Dani, they convinced Jordan to send explicit photos of himself to them.^[2][3] After receiving the photos, they threatened to make them public if Jordan did not pay them. His parents decided to go public to help raise awareness and garner support for the extradition of those involved.

Legal proceedings

In May 2022, indictments were issued against Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, brothers from Lagos, Nigeria.^[1] Arrests were made by Nigerian police in January 2023. On July 20, 2023, the Honorable Justice B.F.M. Nyako ordered they be turned over to the United States and on August 3, 2023, B.E. Jedy Agba, the Solicitor-General of the Nigerian Federation, signed the surrender order.^[1] The men involved, Samuel Ogoshi (22), Samson Ogoshi (20),and Ezekiel Ejeham Robert (19), were extradited from Nigeria to face criminal charges in the United States for their role in Jordan's death. The Ogoshi brothers appeared before a federal judge at the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Monday, August 14, 2023.^[4] They plead not guilty and are currently awaiting trial. They were denied bond.^[2]

Charges

All three men are charged with conspiracy to sexually exploit minors, which carries a mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison, conspiracy to distribute child pornography, which carries a minimum sentence of 5 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit stalking through the internet, which has no minimum sentence but a maximum sentence of 5 years. Samuel Ogoshi is additionally charged with Sexual Exploitation and Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor Resulting in Death, which carried a mandatory sentence of 30 years in prison with the possibility of a life sentence.^[5][3] Federal prosecutors released a statement saying they did not intend to seek the death penalty.^[6]

See also

• Sextortion

References

1. "Western District of Michigan | Two Nigerian Men Extradited To The United States After Being Indicted For International Sexual Extortion Ring | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
2. Team, TV6 News (2023-09-01). "Bond denied for 2 Nigerian men charged in sextortion ring". uppermichiganssource.com. Retrieved 2024-01-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
3. "United States of America, Plaintiff, vs. Samuel Ogoshi, Samson Ogoshi, and Ezekiel Ejehem Robert, defendants".
4. Nigerians appear in Grand Rapids court in sextortion case, retrieved 2024-01-30
5. Team, TV6 News (2023-05-03). "3 Nigerian men charged in 'Sextortion' ring and Jordan DeMay death". uppermichiganssource.com. Retrieved 2024-01-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
6. Massman, Bradley (2023-08-14). "Federal prosecutors won't seek death penalty for Nigerian men charged in sextortion case". mlive. Retrieved 2024-01-30.

Sources