Canton Resident Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and Transportation of Child Pornography

DETROIT - A Canton man pleaded guilty today to charges relating to the sexual exploitation of a minor and transporting child pornography, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr.

Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Jared Murphey, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations-Detroit.

Shariq Alam, 48, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Linda V. Parker in Detroit.

According to court records, in February 2025, the FBI received information from local law enforcement that an individual, known to law enforcement, had been communicating with Alam about sexually abusing a minor child. Based on this information, law enforcement obtained and executed a search warrant at Alam's residence. During the search of a bedroom in the basement of the residence, officers found a cell phone holder and an external camera light attached to a nightstand facing a bed, along with sexual toys and paraphernalia and several flash drives. An examination of two of the flash drives revealed multiple videos of child pornography, including videos of an identified minor victim that had been created by Alam. Further investigation revealed that Alam uploaded child pornography to his Google Drive account.

Alam will be sentenced on August 12, 2026 where he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ann Nee and Sean King.