Suburban Chicago Man Charged With Possessing and Transporting Child Pornography

CHICAGO - A suburban Chicago man who allegedly possessed and transported sexually explicit images of children has been indicted on federal child pornography charges.

EMAD SAGHIR, 42, of Evanston, Ill., is charged with possession and transportation of child pornography, according to an indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago. According to the indictment, Saghir last year possessed in his Google account an image of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor. On several occasions last year Saghir also transported images of child pornography via his computer, the indictment states.

Saghir was arrested this morning. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment today in federal court in Chicago. A detention hearing was set for Tuesday at noon.

The indictment was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Maione.

Transportation of child pornography is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum of 20 years. Possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor is punishable by up to 20 years. The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to www.missingkids.com or by calling 1-800-843-5678. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.