Two Afghan evacuees charged with crimes at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin
Two Afghan evacuees were charged with crimes at Fort McCoy, an Army installation in Wisconsin, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
Bahrullah Noori, 20, was charged with attempting to engage in sexual acts with a minor using force and three counts of engaging in a sexual act with a minor, with one count alleging the use of force, according to a statement.
The alleged victims were under the age of 16 and were at least four years younger than the defendant, according to the indictment.
Mohammad Haroon Imaad, a 32-year-old evacuee, is charged with assaulting his spouse by "strangling and suffocating her," the DOJ added. The indictment alleges the assault happened on Sept. 7.
Imaad and Noori were charged in previous complaints filed in U.S. District Court, the Justice Department noted.
The pair made appearances in Madison on Sept. 16 and are being held in the Dane County Jail. Imaad and Noori are slated for arraignment on Thursday at 10:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., respectively, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker.
If convicted, Noori faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years and a maximum of life in federal prison on the charges alleging use of force and a maximum penalty of 15 years on the other two charges. Imaad faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted.
The charges are a result of investigations by the FBI and the Fort McCoy Police Department, the DOJ said.
The U.S. and coalition forces evacuated more than 110,000 civilians during the final weeks of August, according to the Pentagon, which took place as the Taliban overthrew the Western-backed Afghan government and retook control of the country.
Nearly 60,000 Afghan evacuees have reportedly landed in the United States since Aug. 17.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/two-afghan-evacuees-charged-crimes-021100217.html