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A 21-year-old Afghan man living in Arlington has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison on charges of producing and possessing child pornography, U.S. attorneys said on Thursday.
The man, identified in a news release as Badshah Sahi, pleaded guilty to the federal charges in April, according to the statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in North Texas. Sahi will serve the 35-year sentence consecutively to any sentence imposed on him for outstanding state charges.
Forney police arrested Sahi late last February on information that Sahi was communicating with a 14-year-old girl in that city, according to the statement. Sahi picked the girl up from outside her home and transported her to multiple locations to sexually assault her, authorities said.
At the time of his arrest, a search of Sahi’s phone uncovered numerous videos and images of a female child and communications with other minors, officials said.
On at least one occasion, Sahi used the gaming platform Roblox to coerce a 10-year-old child to create and send him sexually explicit videos, according to the statement. The victim disclosed their age to Sahi in online chat logs.
Additional records indicate Sahi communicated with a 15-year-old girl in San Marcos, where he traveled to record himself sexually assaulting the girl, according to the statement.
Sahi was “recklessly released” into the country during the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021, said Antwoine Jones, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Dallas.
“This lengthy sentence sends a resounding message: Child predators will find no safe harbor in the Northern District of Texas,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said. “We will find them and ensure they face the full weight of federal prosecution. Our commitment to protecting children is absolute.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2026 at 6:01 PM.
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