Mukesh Khawas, a Pittsburgh resident and lawful permanent U.S. resident originally from Bhutan, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for receiving sexually explicit images of a child under the age of 12. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon, marks the end of a federal prosecution that exposed Khawas’s deliberate targeting of a minor through the social networking app Skout.com.
According to court records, between June 14 and June 15, 2016, Khawas initiated and engaged in online chat conversations with a female child, during which he explicitly requested and received graphic images of the minor. Investigators confirmed that Khawas was fully aware the victim had not yet turned 12 years old, making the crime among the most severely punished under federal child exploitation statutes.
In addition to the charge of receipt of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, Khawas admitted to producing and possessing child sexual abuse material. His admission triggered enhanced penalties and confirmed a pattern of predatory behavior that federal prosecutors said demonstrated a dangerous disregard for the law and the welfare of children.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christy C. Wiegand and Jessica Lieber Smolar led the prosecution, presenting digital evidence recovered during a coordinated investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, and the West Virginia State Police. The agencies traced Khawas’s online activity and secured convictions based on chat logs, image metadata, and IP address records.
Upon completion of his 7-year sentence, Khawas will be deported to Bhutan and barred from appealing or reentering the United States. His permanent residency status was voided as part of the plea agreement, underscoring the immigration consequences tied to serious federal sex crimes.
The case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the proliferation of child sexual exploitation. The program leverages federal, state, and local law enforcement to identify, apprehend, and convict offenders while supporting victim recovery. More information is available at www.justice.gov/psc.
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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