Malik, Issa Sentenced

Two South Dakota men, Mensur Malik, 23, and Salim Issa, 23, both from Sioux Falls, have been sentenced to federal prison on child exploitation charges. The sentences were handed down on February 25, 2014, after the men pleaded guilty to their respective charges in September 2013.

Mensur Malik received a sentence of 151 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of transporting a minor across a state line with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Salim Issa, on the other hand, received a sentence of 46 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of traveling across a state line for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct.

According to their plea hearings, Malik and Issa traveled from South Dakota to Iowa in July 2012, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity with a minor female. Malik admitted to transporting the minor from Clear Lake, Iowa, to Sioux Falls, while Issa admitted to intending to have sex with the minor female during the trip.

The sentences were handed down by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade in Cedar Rapids. In addition to their prison terms, both Malik and Issa were ordered to pay a special assessment of $100 and serve a five-year term of supervised release after their prison terms. They will also be required to comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Clear Lake Police Department, the Sioux Falls Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Project Safe Childhood aims to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl, with the case file number being CR 13-3024.

The sentences handed down to Malik and Issa serve as a reminder of the severity of child exploitation crimes and the importance of holding perpetrators accountable. The case highlights the need for continued efforts to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, and to protect vulnerable victims from those who seek to harm them.