Federal agents say a 20-year-old Dearborn Heights man turned TikTok and Snapchat into tools for a sextortion scheme that targeted teenagers, pressuring them to send sexually explicit images and then threatening to blast the material online if they did not comply. The criminal complaint, recently unsealed in federal court, identifies the suspect as Hassan Salloum and alleges that the victims included minors in other states and even overseas.
According to ClickOnDetroit, Homeland Security Investigations opened the case after Australian authorities reported a 13-year-old victim in December 2024. The complaint, unsealed on May 8, charges Salloum with sexual exploitation of a child, including attempt, as well as distribution of child pornography, and receipt and possession of child pornography. Investigators say they executed a federal search warrant at his Dearborn Heights home on May 1 and interviewed him at the residence.
Agents say the alleged pattern was chillingly direct. In one instance, investigators say Salloum captioned a video "You have been leaked" as he allegedly tried to pressure a 16-year-old in Arizona, according to ClickOnDetroit. The complaint alleges he first contacted the teen on TikTok on Dec. 7, 2025, then shifted the conversation to Snapchat, where he allegedly sent a screen recording that showed about 15 explicit photos and videos and demanded more material. Police say he later posted a nude photo in a TikTok comment thread and, during the interview at his home, admitted to threatening to "leak" images.
Federal charges and legal context
Federal laws covering sexual exploitation of children and child pornography carry heavy penalties when prosecutors secure convictions, and sextortion cases have drawn increasingly tough sentences. For context, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Ohio highlighted a case that resulted in a 27-year prison sentence for a defendant who sexually exploited and sextorted more than two dozen victims, a measure of how courts may respond to similar conduct, as the Justice Department reported. The complaint against Salloum remains an allegation, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Investigation status and next steps
Homeland Security Investigations is listed as the agency that filed the criminal complaint unsealed on May 8, and federal prosecutors could seek additional charges as they comb through digital evidence and process warrants. As of the unsealing, there is no public record of a trial date or an indictment beyond the complaint, and any new developments will show up in subsequent court filings. Local and federal officials have not issued further public statements beyond what appears in the complaint.
