A Fresh Meadows residents has been sentenced to up to three years in prison after pleading guilty to attempting to disseminate “indecent material,” including a naked photo of himself, to an individual he believed was a 14-year-old girl – but who was actually an NYPD detective, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Friday.
Tariq Alam, 30, pleaded guilty in mid-May to first-degree attempted dissemination of indecent material to minors.
“The defendant admitted that he preyed upon an individual whom he believed was a 14-year-old girl – but who was in actuality was an undercover detective – and that he made arrangements to meet her to have sexual relations with her,” Brown said in a prepared statement. “The case shows the importance of Internet law enforcement surveillance initiatives in the protection of children who are underage and vulnerable to predators and should serve as a warning to parents to closely monitor their children’s Internet access and activities.”
In pleading guilty, Alam admitted that he used the social media application “Meet24” on Nov. 29, 2013 to initiate a conversation with a screen name attached to a profile saying the individual was a 14-year-old girl – but in fact was a male NYPD detective working undercover, the DA said. During the conversation, the undercover officer gave Alam “her” cell number and proceeded to send text messages between Nov. 29, 2013 and Feb. 19, 2014 that were sexual in nature. In one instance, Alam emailed a naked picture of himself.
On Feb. 19, Alam went to a pre-arranged location in Queens to meet the girl, with whom he expected to have sexual intercourse, according to Brown.
