- Authorities said Friday that Adebola Festus Adekumle has been extradited from Nigeria to the United States to face justice for the alleged criminal acts that led to the death of Montgomery.
The tragic death of 16-year-old Walker Montgomery of Starkville in 2022 led to an FBI investigation related to child sextortion.
On Friday, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, the FBI and the Mississippi Attorney General announced an arrest in the case.
Someone Montgomery met online asked for money. When the teen said no, the online predator threatened to release a sexually explicit video of him. After continued pressure by the predator, Montgomery took his own life.
The investigation that followed revealed that other teens in the Starkville area had also been targeted. The FBI then became involved in the investigation, and it was revealed that the individuals preying on the teens were overseas.
Authorities said Friday that Adebola Festus Adekumle has been extradited from Nigeria to the United States to face justice for the alleged criminal acts that led to the death of Montgomery. Adekumle was arraigned before Magistrate Judge Jane M. Virden in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.
“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 to the United States now to stand trial for his actions,” Attorney General Fitch said at the press conference announcing the arrest. “This trial cannot bring back Walker and the Montgomery Family will always hurt. But I hope that today they get some closure, and some assurances that Walker will get justice. Walker’s life and death were a catalyst for change in Mississippi.”
Since Montgomery’s death, Mississippi has made sextortion a crime. Lawmakers also passed the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act. That law, which was unanimously passed by the Legislature in 2024 and signed by Governor Tate Reeves (R), requires social media platforms to make reasonable efforts to prevent or mitigate children’s exposure to potentially harmful content while using the platforms. One way of doing that is by age verification.
NetChoice, a trade association, has challenged the Mississippi law, claiming that the legislation violates citizens’ constitutionally protected rights, endangers their online privacy and security, and thwarts their rights to make decisions for their family as they deem appropriate. NetChoice’s members include Amazon; Google, owner of YouTube; Snap Inc., the parent company of SnapChat; Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram; Netflix; X; and other prominent online platforms.
Fitch said Friday that the very same devices that give teens so many opportunities are causing serious harm to their mental wellbeing.
“Parents are up against the best engineers at the largest companies with the deepest pockets and a cadre of the best lawyers money can buy to defend them. It’s not a fair fight. Parents need help to protect their children from the social media cartel,” Fitch said, adding that “the industry is starting to buckle under the pressure we have created.”
She noted the recent settlement with Roblox and Meta that, among other provisions, provides for age-gating on the social platforms.
“This is only the start, we are actively investigating or negotiating other platforms and we will not stop until we achieve transformational change on an industry-wide basis. This is one of my highest priorities and I am proud to say that Mississippi is leading in this fight, because we are fighting for Walker,” Fitch added.
Frank Corder
