Sex Traveler Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison

PHILADELPHIA—Omar Rashaad Bey, 33, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 97 months in prison for three counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places between January 2004 and May 2007, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Bey pleaded guilty September 15, 2010.

In 2004, Bey entered into what he claimed was an Islamic marriage with a 14-year-old girl in Philadelphia. He neither obtained a marriage license, nor did he obtain court permission to do so, as Pennsylvania law required. He then took the girl to Egypt, where she lived with him (and at times alone), while he studied. She became pregnant and gave birth to a child in Egypt. While in Egypt, Bey had an affair with the girl's older sister. In 2006, Bey entered into another union, purporting to be an Islamic marriage, with a 15-year-old girl. The girl was located in Philadelphia while Bey was still in Egypt. The Islamic marriage ceremony took place via the Internet in a video hookup. Bey later took his latest "bride" to Cairo, Egypt with him to engage in a sexual relationship. There was no marriage license for this marriage either and Bey had not divorced his first "wife" at the time. She also had a child while in Egypt.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Jan E. DuBois also ordered Bey to pay a fine in the amount of $2,500, serve 10 years supervised release, and register as a sex offender.

The case was investigated jointly by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Josh A. Davison.