SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Zargham Bukhari, 22, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to sex trafficking of children, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, between February and April of 2014, Bukhari transported a 14-year-old victim to various motels and other locations in and around Sacramento to have sex with men for money. Bukhari would then take the money from the victim. Bukhari also gave the victim methamphetamine while he trafficked her.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force, a multijurisdictional task force composed of representatives from the FBI and the Sacramento Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michele Beckwith is prosecuting the case.
Bukhari is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on February 10, 2017. Bukhari faces a maximum statutory penalty of life years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.