The Nigerian man accused of being connected to the death of a Mississippi teenager is rejecting the charges against him.
Adebola Festus Adekunle, 26, pleaded not guilty in federal court on Monday. He is charged the sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, the production of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of a minor, and interstate threats with intent to extort related to the death of Walker Montgomery. He is set to stand trial in Aberdeen on Oct. 19.
Montgomery, a former Starkville Academy student and football player, was 16 at the time of his passing. He took his own life in December 2022 after Adekunle allegedly posed as a female who used manipulative language to coerce the teen into sharing private content before demanding a $1,000 payment and threatening to blackmail the victim.
Following Montgomery’s passing, the Mississippi Legislature passed and Gov. Tate Reeves signed “Walker’s Law,” a bill that created a criminal offense for sextortion in the state.
As for Adekunle, the defendant was arrested in Nigeria in August 2023, as part of a wider operation with the FBI to apprehend sexual extortionists targeting minors in the United States. He was extradited to the U.S. on Aug. 27. He faces up to life in prison and mandatory minimum prison sentences on at least two charges. The child exploitation resulting in death count carries a mandatory 30-year prison sentence, if found guilty of the charge.
“Walker Montgomery should be here with us today. He should be moving into his dormitory, meeting up with friends, and running to class. That he is not is a tragedy. And it is because of the criminal acts of someone halfway around the world – someone who has been brought back to the United States now to stand trial for his actions,” Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said.
“This trial cannot bring back Walker and the Montgomery family will always hurt. But I hope that today they get some closure, and assurances that Walker will get justice.”
The case is being investigated by the FBI Jackson Field Office, the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section and International Operations Division, and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker S. King.
