A Pakistani-Australian man, Muhammad Zain Ul Abideen Rasheed (29), has been sentenced to 17 years in prison in Australia for what the court deemed one of the country’s worst online child sexual abuse schemes.
Rasheed, who targeted hundreds of children in Australia and overseas, posed as a teenage social media influencer to gain their trust. He then escalated his interactions into sexually explicit requests and threats, coercing victims into performing degrading acts.
The court highlighted the severity of Rasheed’s crimes, noting that he abused some victims with groups of other adults and continued to exploit them despite their obvious distress. The offenses spanned 11 months and involved 286 victims across 665 offenses.
Rasheed was already serving a separate jail term for sexually abusing a 14-year-old child. A psychiatrist deemed him a high risk to reoffend due to his attraction to young adolescents and a sadistic personality disorder.
While the judge acknowledged Rasheed’s youth and participation in a treatment program, he prioritized deterrence and victim protection in sentencing.
The case serves as a stark reminder of the dangers children face online and the sophisticated methods predators employ. It also underscores the importance of law enforcement collaboration in tackling cross-border child abuse crimes.
