A former Georgia Tech computer technician lured children into his home to molest them and take nude photos, prosecutors said Tuesday.
A DeKalb County Superior Court judge is considering whether to allow Sami Ud Deen to be released on bond. He is currently being held without bond in the DeKalb County jail.
Deen, 43, is charged with child molestation and sexual exploitation of children.
Assistant DeKalb County District Attorney Lee Williams said that over 16 months, Deen was molesting young girls. "He took advantage of them and their friendship," Williams said.
During that time, Williams said the Decatur man "groomed" the girls, getting them acclimated to him, taking pictures of them naked and fondling them.
"He told them they were modeling," Williams said. "And they knew to keep it a secret ... when their mother overheard them discussing it, they would hush their tones [if they thought she was near]."
Police initially arrested Deen in November after an acquintance's oldest daughter told her mother about their interaction.
He was released on a $75,000 bond and ordered to live with his parents in Avondale Estates.
But investigators looking through Deen's computer allegedly found a small cache of child pornography that included pictures of children, and he was returned to jail. He was released a second time on a $30,000 bond, according to court records.
Eventually, investigators said they were able to find hundreds of photos on his computer, and he was jailed again.
Some were used to charge Deen, and others deemed only "inappropriate," including photos from the waist-down of young girls at swimming pools or ballet classes.
"We don't believe any amount of restriction will keep the community safe," Williams said. "And he is a flight risk."
Before the arrest, Deen was a computer technician with high-level federal government security clearance, his attorneys said.
Deen's attorney, Scott Key, noted that his client had to surrender his passport, has remained on an ankle monitor and was restricted from using a cell phone with a camera or going near a computer.
"We ask that his bond for $30,000 be reinstated," Key said.
Judge Gail Flake made no decision Tuesday, and it is unclear when she will return with a ruling.
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