Dearborn man facing child porn charges after showing videos to man he met with for sex, police say

Haitham Bazzi facing three charges

Dearborn Police Department (WDIV)

DEARBORN, Mich. – A Dearborn man is facing child porn charges after he showed pictures and videos of children performing sexual acts to a man he had invited to his home for sex, federal officials said.

Dearborn police received a call April 4 from a man who wanted to report someone for possession of child pornography, according to authorities.

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Child porn allegations

The man told police that he had met Haitham Sami Bazzi, of Dearborn, through an online dating app for homosexual men. Bazzi is 26 or 27 years old, police said.

The two men met March 29, and Bazzi invited the other man to come to his home April 1, according to court records. They engaged in a sexual act, during which Bazzi said, “I have a little cousin. I’d love to see you **** him,” authorities said.

They met up at the Dearborn house again on April 4, police said. The man told police that he sat on the couch in Bazzi’s basement and they engaged in sexual acts.

At one point, Bazzi asked the man if he would like to see nude photos of Bazzi, according to the criminal complaint. The man agreed, but while he was scrolling through the photos and videos, Bazzi said, “No, don’t do that. You may see something you don’t want to see. I’ve got a lot of pictures from the dark web,” court records state.

The man told police that he had replied, “Whatever you have on there is staying with you. I am not taking anything from it.”

He told police that there were 12 videos and many pictures of children engaged in sexual acts, officials said. He asked if some of the photos were of the cousin he had mentioned on April 1, and Bazzi said, “No, I wish. I can get him high and then I would love to see you forcible rape him,” according to authorities.

Search warrant, arrest

Deputies obtained a search warrant for Bazzi’s home and served it the evening of April 4, they said. He was found in the basement and arrested on an outstanding warrant, according to the criminal complaint.

Bazzi told police that he had obtained child pornography through group chats on internet apps, officials said.

Police found .2 grams of methamphetamine, suspected “date rape drug” GHB, and several electronic items, including phones and computers.

While searching an iPhone found in Bazzi’s basement, police found 48 videos that appeared to meet the definition of child pornography, as well as 17 videos that might have met the definition, depending on the age of the people shown, court records say.

The criminal complaint concludes that there’s probable cause to charge Bazzi with production of child pornography, possession of child pornography and receipt of child pornography.


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