A Michigan man is accused of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old boy from Windsor, Canada, and attempting to kidnap him, officials said.
The man, identified as Shahzad Hameedi, 46, allegedly met the boy’s mother online on a dating app.
After the assault, Hameedi fled Windsor and crossed the border back into Michigan, where he was later located at his home by members of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Hameedi faces charges of aggravated assault and sexual interference with a person under 16 years of age in Windsor, according to a release from the Windsor Police Service.
An investigation revealed that Hameedi had expressed interest in meeting the boy and having custody of him. He has also been linked to a home invasion at the woman’s house.
Investigators also found a checklist of items he allegedly obtained that are consistent with kidnapping, including heavy-duty zip-ties, duffel bags and Nyquil.
On Sept. 5, 2025, Erin Herrgott, a special agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, filed a criminal complaint in the Eastern District of Michigan for the attempted kidnapping of a minor in this case.
The purpose of a criminal complaint is to inform a judge that there is probable cause that a crime was committed and a specific person committed that crime.
Here’s everything we learned about the case from the affidavit included within the criminal complaint:
Metro Detroit man meets Windsor woman on dating app
In February 2025, Hameedi met the Windsor woman on a dating application.
He allegedly used a different name (Sheraz Hameed instead of his actual name, Shahzad Hameedi) and claimed to be about 10 years younger than he actually is, according to the criminal complaint.
On March 10, 2025, Hameedi went to Windsor to meet the woman in person for the first time.
After that initial meeting, the two met up multiple times in March and April 2025 and continued to chat online.
Throughout their conversations, the woman told Hameedi she was a single mom, and Hameedi expressed interest in meeting and spending time with the boy.
The woman eventually allowed Hameedi to meet her son, and he showed up with gifts for the boy.
Text messages show man’s interest in boy
While messaging online, Hameedi often talked about “his interest in (the boy), his desire to have custody (of the boy) and his desire to rename (the boy) ‘Sherzad,’” the agent wrote in the complaint.
The following messages were sent from Hameedi to the woman:
Note: In the document, the boy is referred to as MV-1 and the woman is referred to as AV-1
April 18, 2025:
“Is MV-1 sleeping? I am just beginning to adore him and would love to just see him if he’s asleep.
April 19, 2025:
“Should I come up and play with him [MV-1]? Let’s see how he will react lol hahahah [...] I just love his voice.”
April 20, 2025:
“How is MV-1 doing? Did he say anything once I left? [...] If I want him to treat me as his father, I will have to treat him like a son. That’s why I gave him a kiss before I left.”
April 22, 2025:
“There will come a point that he [MV-1] won’t really feel hurt by spanking and then he won’t give it any value. Yelling on the other hand can be effective if the tone is right. I think its more about making the kid believe that their actions will jeopardize something of value to them. Like your protection of them, or your attention towards them, or your time with them, etc. It doesn’t have to really diminish but as long as they can understand that whatever they hold dearly is being lost they will comply.”
“[...] Would it upset you if I were to yell or spank MV-1?”
“[...] I wanted to try a few things with him. [...] The other thing is I want to see how he acts if I take him shopping by myself or see how he will react if you leave him along with me.”
“[...] I wonder how he will react if we were to tell him that I’m his father.”
April 23, 2025:
“[...] I would love to have a son regardless of how it turns out between us. I mean I am hopeful that we will turn out well together but regardless of that I would love to have MV-1 in my life as a child. I’ve been thinking about this all day today since you put it in my head last night lol hahaha.”
“[...] He’ll [MV-1] have to be raised Muslim, I’ll have to give him a Muslim name and a last name as well.”
“[...] I think I will rename him Shezad or Sherzad.”
“[...] Is he up?”
“[...] Can I see him? Can I see my little baby?”
April 24, 2025:
“Good morning [...] how is Sherzad Hameed doing?”
Same day:
“[...] It was a pleasure to spend time with Sherzad.”
“[...] Give Sherzad, my love!!”
“[...] I personally think that you should give me sole custody of Sherzad, so that I can invest my personal time and energy in making him successful by learning how to read, write, and communicate...”
The woman then told Hameedi that her Canadian work visa had been renewed and that she planned to book a flight to China for herself and her son. She aimed to leave by early July.
Hameedi responded and said the following, “I have an idea, instead of taking Sherzad to China for the summer why don’t you leave him here with me.”
Man was allowed to be alone with boy twice
There were two occasions in which Hameedi was permitted to be alone with the boy, according to the complaint.
Both times, he brought the boy home with scratches and bruises.
Hameedi had excuses for what caused them, but the boy allegedly became reluctant to see the man, so the woman “limited their interactions.”
This allegedly upset Hameedi.
Hameedi would leave the woman’s home and travel back into the U.S. when she didn’t let him spend time with her son.
The woman and Hameedi continued to communicate over messaging through June 2025, but the woman “did not agree to meet with Hameedi during at least the first half of June 2025,” according to the complaint.
Attempted home invasion
On June 14, 2025, the woman’s neighbor reported seeing a “suspicious person” near the woman’s garage. The neighbor also saw the person try to open a basement window.
This happened after the woman decided to stop meeting Hameedi in person or let him see her son.
When she told Hameedi about the attempted home invasion, he offered to spend the night at the home “to protect” the woman and her son.
The woman declined this offer.
Woman strangled during home invasion
About a week later, on June 22, 2025, Windsor police responded to the woman’s house after receiving a report of a home invasion.
When police arrived, they discovered blood around the woman’s mouth and “marks around her neck consistent with strangulation.”
The woman told police that an “unknown assailant” came into the house, covered her mouth and began to strangle her.
During the struggle, the woman was able to remove the suspect’s black ski mask, but she didn’t see their face.
The suspect then fled the home, leaving the ski mask, a black hat and a handheld Taser.
Police discovered the hat was sold at Target stores and that the Taser could only be bought in the U.S., not Canada.
Man spends night at woman’s home
After this assault and home invasion, the woman let Windsor police install surveillance cameras at her home.
At that point, she also agreed to let Hameedi spend the night at the home.
The next day, on June 23, 2025, Hameedi spent the night at the woman’s home before heading back to Michigan the following morning, on June 24, 2025.
Man insists on taking boy for car ride
On June 24, 2025, Hameedi went back to the woman’s house, arriving at about 8:30 p.m.
At this point, their conversations were caught on the surveillance cameras that Windsor police had installed, according to the complaint.
Just after he arrived, he asked the woman if he could spend time alone with her son.
The boy had already gone to bed, but he was heard on an audio recording entering the boy’s bedroom.
He told the woman he wanted to take the boy for a drive around the neighborhood, but the woman told him it was too late.
This caused Hameedi to raise his voice and say, “It’s okay. It’s not even nine. Come on. I planned everything,” according to the complaint.
Hameedi continued and said, “It’s okay. I’m trying to bond with him. Just give me a few short minutes. I’ll just take him for a short ride and come back. He needs to learn how to be with me too, okay.”
When the woman asked him where he was going to take the boy, Hameedi raised his voice and said, “Just around the block in the car. So he can enjoy himself and I can spend time with him.”
According to the complaint, when the boy tried to say something to his mother in Chinese, Hameedi raised his voice and told the boy to stop.
After that, he left the home with the boy.
Hameedi did not let the woman go with them on the drive.
They got back to the woman’s house at about 9:15 p.m.
Boy returns home crying, with injuries
The woman told authorities that when the boy left the home with Hameedi, he didn’t have any visible injuries.
When they returned, the boy was crying, and the woman saw “two large bruises” on the boy’s forehead.
Hameedi claimed that the boy was stung by a bee and told the woman not to call 911. He then left the home at about 9:27 p.m.
Boy tells mom about abuse
After Hameedi left, the boy told his mom that Hameedi had hit him in the head and stomach.
The boy also told her that he had pain in the areas of his abdomen and genitals.
The woman said that when her son tried to urinate, blood had come out, and she called emergency services to report the assault, according to the complaint.
The boy was taken to the hospital to be treated for multiple bruises or contusions on his face, head, lower abdomen, penis and inner thigh.
There was also a concern about possible trauma to the 4-year-old’s internal organs.
Crossing records, data shows man was in Canada at time of boy’s assault
Officials received information from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents that showed Hameedi crossed into Canada, and then went back into the U.S. on June 24, around the time of the boy’s assault.
Data shows that Hameedi’s three cell phones connected to the woman’s home modem at times also consistent with the assault.
Man didn’t formally cross border when home invasion happened
In addition, border patrol agents discovered that they didn’t have records of Hameedi formally crossing the U.S.-Canada border on June 14 or on June 22.
However, data showed that one of Hameedi’s cell phones was connected to the woman’s modem from 7:12-7:24 p.m. on June 14 and from 2:48-2:55 a.m. on June 22.
These times are consistent with when a neighbor saw the “suspicious” person outside the woman’s home and when the home invasion and assault on the woman occurred.
Man’s rental car spotted near Detroit River
Agents then obtained license plate reader information from June 22, which showed that Hameedi’s rental car was near the Detroit River after midnight.
The particular area where the rental car was located is close to a location on the Canadian side of the river that was later identified in a “Path” note on Hameedi’s phone when it was searched.
When officials reviewed video surveillance footage from the route noted in Hameedi’s phone, they saw someone riding a bicycle in a light-color backpack, consistent with a “Geckobrands” backpack that was later found in his home.
Video footage also shows a person riding a bike down the woman’s street and slowing down near her home at about 2:47 a.m. on the night of the home invasion, according to the complaint.
The person is also seen on video leaving the home at about the same time Hameedi’s phone disconnected from the modem.
Man arrested
U.S. Marshals arrested Hameedi on June 27, 2025, on a “Canadian provision arrest warrant” for the boy’s assault.
His three cellphones were also seized.
That day, a U.S. federal search warrant was also obtained for his home and cell phones.
Cell phone data reveals suspected kidnapping plans
When agents searched Hameedi’s phones, they found a note titled “Fishing” within the OneNote app on the Google Pixel phone.
The note was dated June 6, 2025, with the first section titled “Operation.”
The woman’s address was listed under this section.
In the next section, titled “New Stuff,” several items are listed, with red check marks next to some of them.
This list was designed for checking off completed items like a to-do list.
The list also included a section titled “Sherzad,” which was the name Hameedi used for the boy.
Under the section labeled “Sherzad,” the following items were checked off:
- Life vest
- Toddler Backpack
- Big Duffle (sic) bag
- Long Towels
Other items on the checklist include long heavy-duty zip ties, a stun gun, a glass cutter, a suction cup, NyQuil medicine, a funnel, gloves, long towels and large duffel bags.
These items are consistent with attempted kidnapping and home invasion crimes, according to the complaint.
In addition, the agent said that the items linked to kayaking and biking show that those were the ways that Hameedi likely crossed the U.S.-Canada border.
Screenshots of travel path from Detroit River to woman’s home
Authorities also discovered that the “Path” note found in his phone also had screenshots that showed a travel route from the Canadian side of the Detroit River to the woman’s home.
Items found in man’s home
When Hameedi’s home was searched, agents found a gray “Geckobrands” backpack on a table in the home office. This was an item on Hameedi’s checklist.
Around the backpack, agents found plastic bags that contained the following items:
- Zip ties
- A roll of duct tape
- A black mask
- Purple rubber gloves
- NyQuil Severe Cold & Flu medication
- A red funnel
Most of these items were also on Hameedi’s checklist.
Ransom demand
When agents searched inside the bag, they found a black jacket, plastic wrap and a laminated piece of paper that appeared to be a ransom note.
This note is consistent with ransom demands linked to kidnappings, according to the criminal complaint.
The following note, dated the day before the attempted home invasion, was also found inside Hameedi’s home office:
The note appeared to be written by Hameedi, posing as the woman and writing about abandoning the boy.
Phrases translated from English to Chinese
According to the criminal complaint, data retrieved from Hameedi’s cell phones show his “persistent efforts” to have the boy refer to him as his father.
On one of the phones, data shows that Hameedi used Google Translate to translate phrases from English to Chinese to try to talk to the boy.
The Google Translate searches include the following:
Abusive images of boy found on phone
Agents also found 37 images of the boy in a password-protected folder on his phone labeled “Sherzad.”
The photos showed the boy’s bare buttocks, anus and bruised back, according to the complaint.
Another photo, which originally showed Hameedi and the woman, was cropped so that only the boy was seen.
Search history
Hameedi’s search history also revealed inquiries consistent with kidnapping.
On June 7, 2025, the day after the “Operation” checklist note was created, Hameedi’s internet searches included the following:
- Tranquilizer shots
- Non-prescription tranquilizers
- Obtaining nitrous oxide
- Whether Benadryl can be sprayed or injected
- Strong over-the-counter sedation medicine in Canada
On June 14, he searched for “full wet suit for men nearby.”
His internet cache also revealed that he had looked at an image that showed two Canadian kids who had been reported missing in May 2025.
On June 25, 2025, search history shows he looked up “tranquilizer guns and darts.”
Then on June 26, his search history includes, “how to check if I have an arrest warrant out there in Windsor Ontario Canada (sic),” “Sheraz Hameed Windsor Ontario Canada (sic),” and “how to report suspected child trafficking.”
“The defendant’s alleged plan to kidnap a young child by sneaking across the border and entering Canada, breaking into a mother’s home at night, strangling her and then assaulting her innocent, young child two days later is diabolical. No parent or child should ever be subjected to this wickedness. We will bring the full force of the law against violent predators,” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon said.