Published 12th Apr, 2024

By Joseph Adeiye

Samuel Ogoshi and Samson Ogoshi, two brothers from Lagos, have pleaded guilty to conspiring to sexually exploit teenage boys in the Western District of Michigan and across the United States .

Samuel, 22, and Samson, 20, were indicted of sextortion after John DeMay, a 17-year-old American, became their victim.

DeMay committed suicide after his extortionists backed him into a corner in 2022, and he wasn’t their only victim.

“Today’s guilty pleas represent an extraordinary success in the prosecution of international sextortion,” US Attorney Mark Totten said on Wednesday. “These convictions will send a message to criminals in Nigeria and every corner of the globe: working with our partners both here and overseas, we can find you and we can bring you to justice.

“I hope these guilty pleas also bring a small measure of relief to the family of Jordan DeMay, who died as a result of this crime. Of course, the job is not done. The Ogoshi brothers await sentencing later this year, and we are still pursuing the extradition of the third defendant, Ezekiel Robert.”

Nigeria extradited Samuel and Samson to the US to be arraigned in August 2023. They initially pleaded not guilty.

Samuel and Samson, alongside Ezekiel Ejehem Robert, faced four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, conspiracy to sexually exploit minors, conspiracy to distribute child pornography and conspiracy to commit stalking through the internet.

The indictment document details how the Ogoshi brothers and Robert bought a hacked Instagram account with a female persona. This female persona – dani.robertts – asked boys to send explicit pictures themselves, then went on to threaten to leak the images if the victims didn’t pay some amount of money.

The US Department of Justice states that the offence of conspiracy to sexually exploit minors requires a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

The Ogoshi brothers face the maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison.

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