WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – A Dearborn Heights man is facing federal charges after meeting a 13-year-old girl online and asking her for sexually explicit photos and videos.
Rami Rafic Jergess, 31, is facing charges of production of child pornography, coercion and enticement and transfer of obscene material to minors.
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The investigation began in Florida after a teen’s mother reported to police that her daughter was communicating with an adult online.
The 13-year-old girl from Florida was staying at an international school in Switzerland when she and her roommates visited a website where people can randomly match with others online for video or chat conversations.
While on the website, the teen met Jergess.
Court documents state that the girl and Jergess exchanged phone numbers and agreed to talk on WhatsApp.
The teen told police that she and Jergess texted throughout the day and video chatted at night when she was in her dorm room.
She told Jergess she was 13 years old when they began texting each other. Jergess reportedly told the teen he was 23 but later said he was 31.
While on a video call with Jergess on July 20, 2025, the teen said he asked her to show him her body. The teen agreed to do so if Jergess told her his full name and she could look him up. The man told her his full name and provided his date of birth.
According to authorities, the date of birth the teen provided to police matched Jergess’ driver’s license information.
The teen then exchanged sexually explicit photos with Jergess.
On July 21, Jergess reportedly asked the teen for more explicit photos throughout the day, but she declined.
Authorities said the man engaged in sexually explicit video chats with the young girl on July 21, 22 and 23.
Court documents state that Jergess told the teen he wanted to visit her back at her home in Florida. He told her he lived in Michigan.
The girl’s mother told authorities that a teacher overheard the girl’s conversations with her friends, in which she described the video chats with Jergess. The teacher reported it to a school administrator, who then told the girl’s mother.
The mother also went through the teen’s phone but found that the chats between the teen and Jergess had been deleted.
Authorities investigated the WhatsApp account the teen communicated with and tracked down the phone number and IP address associated with the account. From there, they found Jergess’ address in Dearborn Heights.
On Aug. 26, 2025, a federal search warrant was conducted at Jergess’ home. Authorities seized his iPhone, but it was locked and could not be previewed.