- Nigerian basketball player Daniel Adegboyega charged with first-degree rape in Alabama.
- Police say alleged victim reported sexual assault after welfare check at his apartment.
- Defendant pleads not guilty as immigration status also comes under scrutiny.
A Nigerian basketball player based in the United States, Daniel Adegboyega, has been charged with first-degree rape by forcible compulsion in the state of Alabama following allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in his apartment.
Eko Hot Blog reports that Adegboyega, 21, was arrested in July by the Jacksonville Police Department at his apartment in Jacksonville, Alabama, where he had recently relocated after joining Jacksonville State University’s men’s basketball team ahead of the new season.
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According to authorities, the charge stems from an incident that allegedly occurred on July 28 when the woman visited Adegboyega’s apartment to watch a movie.
Investigators said the woman secretly texted her roommate after Adegboyega allegedly made unwanted sexual advances toward her.
Police said the roommate became concerned after repeated calls and messages went unanswered. According to investigators, Adegboyega later answered one of the roommate’s calls using the woman’s phone and claimed she was in the bathroom.
The roommate subsequently contacted the Jacksonville Police Department to request a welfare check.
Officers reportedly arrived at the apartment at about 2 a.m., where they found the woman visibly distressed.
Police obtained statements from both the complainant and Adegboyega before collecting evidence from the scene, including the woman’s trousers, which investigators said contained bloodstains.
Authorities alleged that the woman accused Adegboyega of forcibly raping her twice during the night. Adegboyega has denied using force and has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Following his arrest, he was remanded at the Calhoun County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
Court records also indicate that the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed an immigration hold on Adegboyega.
During a bond hearing, ICE agent Ty Unruh reportedly testified that the basketball player entered the United States on an F-1 student visa that expired in 2023.
According to the testimony, if Adegboyega is granted bond, he would be transferred to an immigration detention facility in Louisiana to begin immigration proceedings that could eventually lead to his deportation to Nigeria.
However, Adegboyega’s host father, Ryan Parlee, disputed the immigration claims, insisting that the athlete’s immigration status had been misrepresented.
Parlee explained that Adegboyega attended high school in Iowa for four years and graduated in 2022 without returning to Nigeria.
He further claimed the immigration complications began after a family trip to Mexico in 2022 and became more complicated when Adegboyega transferred from the University of South Florida to the University of California, Riverside.
According to Parlee, UC Riverside allegedly failed to submit the necessary immigration documentation before Adegboyega later transferred to Jacksonville State University this summer, resulting in the lapse in his visa records.
The criminal case remains before the Alabama courts, where Adegboyega maintains his innocence while legal proceedings continue.
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