Religion Instructor Sentenced for Illegal Sexual Conduct with Minor Student

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for enticing a minor to engage in sexual conduct and transferring obscene matter to a minor.

According to court documents, Seitu Sulayman Kokayi, 30, was a content developer at the University of Maryland University College campus and a Quran instructor at a mosque in Washington, D.C. from 2009 until his arrest in August 2018. The victim was 15 years of age and was a student of Kokayi until the time of his arrest. Over a three week period in August 2018, Kokayi and the victim communicated by phone on 256 occasions for over 32 hours. They also had 43 FaceTime sessions. Kokayi engaged the minor victim in sexually explicit conversations, proceeding to entice the child to disrobe and engage in sexual acts over FaceTime. Kokayi also exposed himself to the victim, masturbating on FaceTime with the victim on multiple occasions. Also according to court records, Kokayi promoted support for the Islamic State and other violent activity by sending videos and other jihadist propaganda to his students, family members and friends.         

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and John P. Selleck, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kellen S. Dwyer, Dennis M. Fitzpatrick and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Joseph Attias prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-410.