US-Based

  A US-based Nigerian basketball player, Daniel Adegboyega, has been arrested in Alabama and charged with first-degree rape by forcible compulsion, according to authorities. According to reports by 1819 News and WVTM 13 sighted by our correspondent on Tuesday, the 21-year-old was arrested in July by the Jacksonville Police Department at his apartment in Jacksonville, Alabama. Adegboyega, who recently joined Jacksonville State University’s men’s basketball team ahead of the new season, is being held at the Calhoun County Jail without bond. Court records also and the show that the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed an immigration hold on him. Investigators told the court that the alleged victim visited Adegboyega’s apartment on July 28US-Based Nigerian Basketball Player Arrested on Rape Charges in Alabama to watch a movie. According to police investigator Andrew Swain, the woman alleged that about 20 minutes into the movie, Adegboyega made unwanted sexual advances despite her repeatedly asking him to stop. Police said the woman secretly texted her roommate about the situation. When the roommate’s repeated calls went unanswered, Adegboyega allegedly answered one of the calls using the woman’s phone and claimed she was in the bathroom. Concerned for her safety, the roommate contacted police for a welfare check. Officers who arrived at the apartment around 2 a.m. reportedly found the woman visibly distressed. Investigators said the victim alleged that Adegboyega forcibly raped her twice that night. They also recovered clothing reportedly stained with blood as part of the investigation. Adegboyega denied using force and has pleaded not guilty to the allegations. During a bond hearing, ICE agent Ty Unruh testified that Adegboyega entered the United States on an F-1 student visa that expired in 2023. According to the agent, if granted bond, Adegboyega would be transferred to an immigration detention facility in Louisiana to begin immigration proceedings that could lead to deportation to Nigeria. However, Adegboyega’s host father, Ryan Parlee, disputed the immigration testimony, arguing that the player’s visa complications resulted from administrative errors after transferring between universities. Parlee said Adegboyega graduated from Grand View Christian High School in Iowa in 2022 before playing college basketball for the University of South Florida and the University of California, Riverside, adding that UC Riverside allegedly failed to process his immigration documents before his transfer to Jacksonville State. Following his arrest, Jacksonville State University removed Adegboyega’s profile from the men’s basketball team website. A preliminary hearing in the criminal case has been scheduled for August 31. Adegboyega is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.