Philadelphia man captured in Egypt 12 years after being indicted on illicit sexual acts with minors, officials say

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A Philadelphia man was captured in Egypt 12 years after he was indicted on sex travel charges, the United States Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday. 

Abdullah Malik, 49, was apprehended in Egypt recently for multiple sex crimes.   

Malik was charged in March 2012 for allegedly traveling to Egypt on four occasions between 2000 and 2005 to engage in “illicit sexual act with a minor less than 12 years old,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Between 2005 and 2006, officials said Malik engaged in a sexual act with a minor under the age of 16 years old in Egypt. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said after Malik was charged in 2012 his whereabouts were unknown and a bench warrant was issued. 

With help from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, and several other law enforcement organizations, authorities took Malik into custody.  

“The support and assistance of Egyptian security authorities was consequential to this effort,” United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero wrote in a news release. 

Malik returned to the United States and made an initial appearance in the Eastern District of Virginia. He’s since been taken to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where a trial will be held, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He was arraigned in Philly on Thursday afternoon. 

If he’s convicted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Malik could face 150 years in prison.