Wisconsin Sex Offender Convicted of Child Exploitation, Faces 35 Years to Life

Tampa, Florida – A federal jury delivered a guilty verdict against Mohammad Ali Hemmat (29, Milwaukee), a convicted sex offender, for enticement and coercion of a minor to engage in sexual activity, production of child sexual abuse material, and traveling to engage in illicit activities with a minor.

Hemmat’s crimes were committed between April 2022 and March 2023, during which he used his cellphone and computer to groom a 12-year-old girl in the Middle District of Florida. He sent her cash, gifts, and fast food, and shared obscene material through social media applications.

Hemmat’s exploitation of the minor victim continued when he remotely logged into her laptop and searched for sexually explicit topics, images, and videos. The minor victim subsequently sent explicit images of herself to Hemmat over the internet.

On two occasions, Hemmat drove from Wisconsin to Florida to engage in sexual activity with the minor. In March 2023, law enforcement was alerted to his presence, and he was subsequently apprehended in Indiana.

Testimony and evidence presented at trial revealed that Hemmat’s tactics were similar to those used in grooming a 13-year-old child in the United Kingdom, who was coerced into sending explicit images to Hemmat. Hemmat’s prior conviction for an offense involving a minor required him to register as a sex offender in Wisconsin.

A federal grand jury indicted Hemmat on charges of enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, production of child sexual abuse material, and traveling to engage in illicit activities with a minor. Hemmat faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 35 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 8, 2024.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, the Jasper County (Indiana) Sheriff’s Office, the Sussex County (United Kingdom) Police Department, and the United States Marshals Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ilyssa M. Spergel and Risha Asokan, as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.