On December 23, Amir Hossain, 35, of East Hempfield Township, PA, was sentenced to 1.5 to 6 years in prison followed by 3 years of probation for his attempt to arrange to rape who he believed was a 14-year-old girl. Hossain’s sentence was imposed following a guilty plea to one count each of criminal attempt to patronize a victim of human trafficking, criminal attempt to commit statutory sexual assault, and criminal solicitation of criminal use of a communication facility.
Hossain’s conviction is the consequence of his engagement with an undercover officer who he believed was a 14-year-old girl. In December 2023, law enforcement began investigating Hossain after he responded to an online advertisement that was purported to be posted by the child’s aunt, but was in fact an undercover officer with the Lancaster County Human Trafficking Task Force. Despite knowing the fictitious child’s age and status as a victim of human trafficking, Hossain agreed to pay $250 to rape the child.
After Hossain responded to the advertisement, he arranged to meet with the undercover officer at an East Lampeter Township hotel. There, Hossain once again agreed to pay $250 to rape the child for thirty minutes while walking to a hotel room. He was subsequently arrested. Following Hossain’s arrest, charges were filed by detectives with the Lancaster County Human Trafficking Task Force.
Lancaster County Assistant District Attorney Fritz Haverstick prosecuted the case and advised the court that while no actual child was harmed, Hossain’s intentions were clear. “He not only thought about it, he not only talked about it, he showed up to a hotel to have sex with a 14-year-old victim.” ADA Haverstick further asserted that, prior to his arrest, Hossain told the undercover officer that he was “excited” for the sexual encounter.
While the CSE Institute praises the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office and ADA Haverstick for prosecuting Hossain, we note that any sex with a child is not a mere “sexual encounter,” it is rape. Moreover, under both federal and state law, any commercial sexual exploitation of a minor constitutes sex trafficking because children cannot consent to be bought or sold for sexual acts. Any adult attempting to purchase a child for sexual gratification is trafficking under Pennsylvania law. We are disappointed that Lancaster County did not prosecute Hossain accordingly.
Before his sentencing, Hossain told Judge Dennis Reinaker that his actions were a “mistake” and asked the court for a more lenient sentence of ten months incarceration because it would leave his wife and two children without financial support. Hossain’s attorney argued that Hossain is not likely to reoffend and asked for the possibility of house arrest so Hossain could continue to work. Judge Reinaker did not respond to Hossain and ruled that Hossain would report to Lancaster County Prison on January 3 to begin his sentence of 1.5-6 years.
The CSE Institute applauds detectives in the Lancaster County Human Trafficking Task Force for proactively apprehending Hossain. We commend the diligence of law enforcement for their efforts in investigating and incapacitating a sexual offender who has demonstrated a propensity to target young and vulnerable individuals. It is imperative that law enforcement proactively identify predatory offenders online to minimize harm to children in our communities.
Indeed, targeting sex buyers who knowingly seek to exploit vulnerable populations, such as children, is the key to reducing the demand for commercial sex and reducing human trafficking overall. Ultimately, it is this demand that fuels the sex trafficking industry.
The CSE Institute advocates for the adoption of the Equality Model in the United States. The Equality Model consists of four key elements: (1) decriminalization of the prostituted person, (2) criminalization of sex buyers and facilitators with a commitment to treating buying sex as a serious crime, (3) a public education campaign about the inherent harms of prostitution, and (4) funded, robust, and holistic exit services for victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The Equality Model directly targets the demand for buying sex by criminalizing sex buyers and traffickers, while decriminalizing the people are being bought and sold for commercial sex. The decriminalization of people in prostitution recognizes those whoa re bought and sold for sex as exploited, not as perpetrators of a crime.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.