Las Vegas Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sexual Exploitation Charges

LAS VEGAS, NV — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada announced a major conviction in federal child safety enforcement following a extensive multi-agency operation involving the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD).

The Plea and the Scale

Mohammad Shoaib Taraki, 31, of Las Vegas, formally entered a guilty plea in federal court before Chief United States District Judge Andrew P. Gordon. Taraki pleaded guilty to one count of production of child sexual abuse material and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Federal prosecutors detailed that a forensic audit of Taraki’s digital network uncovered more than 600 images and videos depicting extreme, sadistic violence against infants and toddlers. Taraki admitted to utilizing encrypted Snapchat accounts and cloud-based applications to traffic, transmit, and receive the illicit files between December 2024 and January 2026.

Severe Penalties Await

Under federal statutes, Taraki faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a statutory maximum penalty of up to 30 years in federal prison for the production count, alongside up to 20 years for the possession charges, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Chief Judge Gordon has officially slated the final sentencing hearing for August 26, 2026.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Innocent Images National Initiative and Metro’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, operating under the umbrella of Project Safe Childhood.

Source: [U.S. Department of Justice / U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Nevada], [Federal Judiciary Docket – District of Nevada], [FBI Las Vegas Field Office Press Bureau].