Two Afghan refugees flown to the U.S. during the Afghanistan withdrawal face federal charges for alleged spousal abuse and engaging in sex acts with a child.
Both men are at Fort McCoy in Tomah, WI:
Bahrullah Noori, 20, is charged with three counts of attempting to engage in a sexual act with a minor, while using force in one case. The victims were under the age of 16, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Mohammad Haroon Imaad, 32, is charged with assaulting his spouse by strangling and suffocating her.Noori and Imaad are scheduled to appear before a federal judge on Thursday. Noori faces a minimum of 30 years in prison and Imaad faces up to 10 years in prison.The charges are a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Fort McCoy police.
The refugees at Fort McCoy want special immigration status. Nine agencies plan to help the more than 12,000 Afghans at the base.
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice said it started investigations of child brides cases within the Afghan refugees:
CBS News has learned that “several” Afghan women and girls who were evacuated to facilities in the United Arab Emirates have told officials that their families forced them into marriage outside of the Kabul airport so that they could be eligible for evacuation.A senior State Department official said authorities are taking the claims seriously and investigating. Human trafficking is a federal crime and also illegal in every state. It is not clear how the U.S. would handle the case of an Afghan evacuee found guilty of child trafficking.
The CBS report mentioned Fort McCoy. The sources said leadership at the base heard about potential cases and began investigating.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY