Prosecutors allege that Muridi Mukhtar Hussein, 19, spent weeks pressuring a 15-year-old Michigan girl to send sexually explicit images and videos, offering thousands of dollars and later threatening to go to her home when she tried to end contact. The Utah case now centers on 17 first-degree felony counts.
Hussein was charged in 3rd District Court with 13 counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of aggravated sexual extortion of a minor and two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor, according to KSL.com. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. Prosecutors have asked that he be held without the possibility of posting bail while the case proceeds to trial.
How the Investigation Crossed State Lines
The investigation began in August, when the girl contacted police in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, after receiving messages from a phone number with an 801 area code, KSL reported. Police later traced the number to Hussein. The booking affidavit, according to the outlet, did not explain how he obtained the teenager's contact information.
The report says Hussein initially asked the girl for sexually explicit pictures and she refused. He then allegedly offered her $5,000 for images and continued asking for more pictures and videos, with offers of additional thousands of dollars.
The Alleged Requests and Threats
According to KSL's account, the girl told Hussein she had two brothers and a younger sister, though she did not actually have a sister. Hussein allegedly asked for pictures of the purported sibling. The teen instead made an AI-generated image depicting a 13-year-old girl in a bikini and sent it to him, the report said.
KSL also reported that Hussein sent the girl a debit-card number and said she could use it to buy things for herself. He allegedly continued pressing her to post more explicit photos on social media; when she did not comply, the messages became more graphic and threatening, according to the outlet.
The Home-Address Threat and 911 Call
Hussein allegedly texted the girl her home address and threatened to come there, KSL reported. After she blocked his number, a second number sent messages harassing her for cutting him off; she blocked that number as well. When a third number contacted her, she called 911 because she feared Hussein would come to her home, the outlet said.
Detectives who reviewed the girl's phone found messages in which Hussein allegedly offered money for sexually explicit material and escalated his threats when she resisted, according to KSL. The report quoted him as writing, “I'll stop once I start seeing ur sister … and then I'll let you go,” and said the teen at one point begged him to let her be done for the night.
Phone and Email Records Led Investigators to Hussein
Police traced the phone number and email address to Hussein and questioned him at his residence before arresting him, KSL reported. In Salt Lake County, prosecutors are seeking to keep him jailed without bail through trial as the 17 felony counts proceed.
Online Sextortion: Reports and Reporting Options
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 26,718 reports of financial sextortion in 2023, up from 10,731 in 2022, according to its reported figures. Those are reports received by the organization, not a count of confirmed incidents or evidence about this case. For general reporting guidance, the U.S. Department of Justice says suspected online child sexual exploitation can be reported to NCMEC through its CyberTipline or to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. NCMEC says it reviews CyberTipline reports and works to identify a potential location so a report can be made available to the appropriate law-enforcement agency for possible investigation, according to its CyberTipline information.
