2 days ago
Ypsilanti man sentenced to over 15 years for child exploitation
Threats made against Rockwood police; pontoon accident in Commerce Lake; and more top stories
Threats made against Rockwood police; pontoon accident in Commerce Lake; and more top stories
Threats made against Rockwood police; pontoon accident in Commerce Lake; and more top stories
A Ypsilanti, Michigan, man was sentenced to over 15 years in federal prison after having pleaded guilty to charges of coercion and enticement of a minor.
One of the victims in the case was a 13-year-old girl from Maumee, Ohio. The other was living in foster care at the time.
U.S. District Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. made the announcement Thursday with the support of Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division.
Mubasher Riaz, 41, of Ypsilanti, will serve 188 months in prison, which is 15 ½ years, as a result of the conviction. He was also ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution to the victims.
The investigation began when local police in Maumee learned that an adult man was messaging a 13-year-old girl via the Snapchat social messaging service. The communications showed that the man had requested, then received, nude images of the girl. He was also trying to get information about her home with the intention of meeting her to engage in sexual activity, the district attorney's report said.
Further investigation by the FBI showed that the same man had messaged several other individuals on Snapchat who identified themselves as minors as young as age 11.
A second 13-year-old living in foster care at the time, whom authorities learned about in that research, had met up with the man and participated in sexual activity in his parked car.
The man had offered tobacco and other items to both children in exchange for sexual acts, the report said.
"Those who exploit children will be investigated aggressively and held fully accountable under federal law," Gibson said about this case.
