North Port registered sex offender indicted for attempting to transfer obscene materials to a minor

OCALA, Florida — A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Orlando investigation has led to the return of a two-count indictment charging a Florida man with attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor and committing a felony offense involving a minor as a registered sex offender.

Imran Siddiqi, 40, of North Port, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, including a 10-year minimum mandatory sentence if convicted on all counts.

According to court documents, between Jan. 31 and Mar. 6, Siddiqi engaged in a conversation with an undercover law enforcement officer who was posing online as a 13-year-old girl. During the conversation, Siddiqi repeatedly described his desire to have sex with the child, sending multiple explicit photographs of himself and other explicit images to the undercover officer. Siddiqi is a registered sex offender. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Sex Offender Predator System, Siddiqi was convicted in 2016 of traveling to meet a minor to commit an unlawful sexual offense.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. 

More information about Project Safe Childhood

HSI Sarasota assisted with the investigation. U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the return of the two-count indictment, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg is the prosecutor.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’ largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.gov)