Who is Zeshaan Naqvi? NY teacher flies to Tampa to have sex with minor girl he met online, arrested
NEW YORK CITY: A social studies teacher from Queens, New York, was arrested on January 23 at a Brandon hotel after he traveled to Tampa to have sex with an underage victim. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that they have arrested Zeshaan Naqvi on the grounds of trying to have sexual relations with a minor.
Who is Zeshaan Naqvi?
As per the Sheriff’s Office, Naqvi, 31, was arrested after taking the unnamed victim to the Country Inn and Suites around 1 pm on January 23 and engaging in sexual acts. The Young Women’s Leadership School’s teacher first picked up the victim from her home for a trip to the hotel at about 1.30 am then after a couple of hours, dropped the victim back to her residence. In a press release, Sheriff Chad Chronister said, “A middle school history teacher booked a ticket, boarded a plane, traveled across the country to meet with a minor who he had been chatting with for about three months.” Police said he admitted that he knew the victim was underage.
Naqvi is being held at the Hillsborough County Jail in lieu of $60,000 bail on seven counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and one count of traveling to meet a minor using a computer device. As per the report from Tampa Bay Times, each count is a second-degree penalty, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
As per The Young Women’s Leadership School of Queens’ staff-directory, Naqvi teaches Social Studies and can officially be contacted at znaqvi@tywlsqueens.org. The school was established in 2005 and has impacted over 560 girls from grades 6 to 12. As of now, the school has not released any official statement following Naqvi’s arrest.
Sex Crimes involving a minor
All the government bodies take severe actions against sexual activities against minors. In cases involving minors, solicitation generally refers to an intention to engage in some sexual activity. Solicitation of a minor in Queens and Brooklyn is a state and federal crime, and one can be charged even if no sexual activity has occurred at the time of the arrest. The penalties in a solicitation case include incarceration, fines, psychological counseling, public service and sex offender registration.
In the current digital age, the internet is closely monitored by law enforcement agencies that are always on the lookout for individuals who pose a threat to minors. Police personnel even pose as minors in chat rooms and social media platforms to find and engage sexual predators. As per the New York laws, any form of sexually explicit online communication can lead to solicitation charges. There are three degrees of sexual abuse charges in New York City, and a sexual abuse charge can be commissioned when the Department of Justice confirms any inappropriate interaction between an adult and a child has taken place.
If someone who is 21 or older has any sort of sexual relations with someone under 17 years of age, they may be charged with rape in the third degree under New York Penal Law 130.25. This is considered a class-E felony offense and is punished by up to four years in prison. New York City has created a diversion program that may be used instead of criminal prosecution for minors and young adults charged with child pornography due to sexting. However, the government bodies have strict punishment for those adults who knowingly start a sexual act against a minor.