According to reporting from an ABC News affiliate, two newly arrived Afghan refugees have been federally indicted for crimes they committed while at Fort McCoy being processed.
Bahrullah Noori has been charged with one count of attempting to engage in a sexual act with a minor, and three counts of engaging in a sexual act with a minor. The indictment alleges that the victims were younger than 16.
Mohammad Haroon Imaad, has been charged with assaulting his spouse by strangling and suffocating her. The indictment indicates that the assault occurred on September 7, 2021.
Noori faces a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life in federal prison for the use of force charge, and a maximum of 15 years on the other charges.
According to another report, U.S. officials are looking into reports that in the evacuation of Afghan refugees, older men were admitted together with young girls they claimed as their “brides.”
According to CBS News, “several” Afghan girls who were evacuated have told officials that their families forced them into marriage outside of the Kabul airport so that they could be eligible for evacuation.
U.S. officials at intake centers in Wisconsin have identified numerous incidents in which female Afghan children have been presented to authorities as the “wives” of much older men.
New Mexico Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell expressed concern after visiting refugees housed at Holloman Air Force Base in her congressional district. Herrell said military officials could not provide basic facts about those living at the base.
“Unfortunately, I left Holloman Air Force Base with more questions than answers. High ranking military brass and officials from Homeland Security and the State Department could not provide facts about the identities of those in the ‘Village,’” Herrell said.
“They did not know (or would not say) how many were U.S. citizens, how many were Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants, or how many were merely people that made it onto our airplanes.
“Even more importantly, they could not say how many refugees had roles serving alongside U.S. forces,” the congresswoman added.
