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Former South Dakota state employee pleads not guilty to 50 child pornography charges

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Former South Dakota state employee pleads not guilty to 50 child pornography charges


A former South Dakota state employee is scheduled to have a jury trial after he was charged with dozens of alleged child pornography crimes.

Mohammad Ghosheh, 25, of Brookings pleaded not guilty April 28 to 50 counts of possession of child pornography during an arraignment hearing in Brookings County Circuit Court, according to a release from the South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley. Ghosheh also entered a not guilty plea on one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, court records show.

Ghosheh worked as an economic assistance benefits specialist for the state Department of Social Services. He no longer works for the agency, according to Open SD.

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Possession of child pornography is a class 4 felony and carries a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in prison for first offenses. Ghosheh faces a minimum of one year in prison on each count, according to the April 28 press release.

Ghosheh was initially charged with 11 counts of possession of child pornography, according to a March 26 press release, but Jackley in the initial statement stated “further charges may be filed.”

Ghosheh was arrested March 25. He was later released on a $10,000 cash bond.

A jury trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 13.

DCI investigated Ghosheh following cyber tip tied to missing North Carolina teen

The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involving a missing 15-year-old girl, according to the initial press release.

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The cyber tip identified Ghosheh as someone who had allegedly been chatting to a girl from North Carolina, according to the complaint. In their conversations, Ghosheh allegedly mentioned flying to North Carolina to see the girl days before her disappearance if he “liked what he saw,” according to the complaint.

The complaint then alleges he asked the girl for nude images of herself. The girl was later found in North Carolina with a different man.

According to previous Argus Leader reporting, police found what is referred to in the criminal complaint as a “sex kidnapping kit” during a search warrant on Ghosheh’s car. Items allegedly in the kit included “kids movies, adult sex games, alcohol, THC products, sex toys, binding material, a blow-up mattress and bedding.”

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Similar items were found in Ghosheh’s residence, according to the complaint.

“The charges reflect the seriousness of having a 15-year-old victim involved in this case,” Jackley said in the Monday evening press release.



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