A metro Atlanta man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for arranging to meet a young girl for sex, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Mewael Berhane, 40, of Stone Mountain, was arrested in an FBI sting after he posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a mother and daughter who wanted to have sex with him, U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak’s office said in a statement.
After the post in October 2017, an FBI agent responded and pretended to be a mother who would let Berhane have sex with her 11-year-old daughter.
The agent arranged to meet up with Berhane in November 2017; the man drove in rush-hour traffic from his work in Decatur to Duluth, where he was arrested when he arrived, Pak’s office said.
“The federal investigation and subsequent prison sentence clearly reflects the threat Berhane posed to the community,” said Chris Hacker, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta. “Fortunately, he connected with an undercover FBI agent and not a child. Let it be a warning to sexual predators who think the anonymity of the internet keeps them protected from detection.”
He pleaded guilty in October. Berhane’s sentence will be followed by 10 years of probation, Pak’s office said. He’ll also be required to register as a sex offender.
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