An Afghan national who federal officials say was paroled into the United States during the Biden administration’s 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal will spend 35 years in federal prison for producing and possessing child pornography after investigators uncovered victims in Texas and Indiana.
U.S. Senior District Judge Terry R. Means sentenced Badshah Sahi, 21, of Arlington, to 420 months in prison on September 29. Sahi pleaded guilty on April 1 to production and possession of child pornography. His federal sentence will run consecutively to his outstanding state proceedings, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Sahi was paroled into the United States on September 5, 2021, during Operation Allies Welcome. Homeland Security Investigations Dallas Acting Special Agent in Charge Antwoine Jones said Sahi entered without proper vetting.
“This dangerous child sex offender was recklessly released into the United States without proper vetting during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and went on to prey on innocent children both here in North Texas and online,” Jones said in the federal release. “Thankfully, working with our law enforcement partners, we were able to remove him from the local community and ensure he spends the next 35 years behind bars, where he won’t be able to harm any more children.”
Investigation Uncovered Multiple Child Victims
Forney police arrested Sahi on February 28, 2025, for sexual assault of a child after investigators believed he had been communicating with a 14-year-old girl from his Arlington residence, according to federal prosecutors. Authorities said Sahi picked up the girl outside her Forney home and drove her to multiple locations where he sexually assaulted her.
A search of Sahi’s phone uncovered numerous images and videos of a prepubescent girl along with communications with other children, prosecutors said. Investigators found that Sahi used the online gaming platform Roblox to coerce a 10-year-old child in Indiana into creating and sending sexually explicit videos at his direction. Authorities said the child disclosed her age to Sahi during their communications.
Forensic records also showed Sahi communicated with a 15-year-old girl in San Marcos, drove to her location and recorded himself sexually assaulting her, according to the Justice Department.
“This lengthy sentence sends a resounding message: Child predators will find no safe harbor in the Northern District of Texas,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said. “We will find them and ensure they face the full weight of federal prosecution. Our commitment to protecting children is absolute, and we hope this outcome serves as a clear deterrent to anyone contemplating similar crimes.”
Federal Audits Documented Afghan Vetting Problems
Sahi’s case adds to scrutiny of the federal government’s screening of Afghan evacuees after the 2021 withdrawal. A 2022 DHS inspector general audit found that Customs and Border Protection did not always have critical information needed to screen, vet or inspect evacuees and that some evacuees were admitted or paroled before they were fully vetted.
A separate September 2026 inspector general review examined 678 asylum applications from Afghan evacuees resettled under Operation Allies Welcome and found at least one process or documentation error in 40% of the files. The review concerned later asylum adjudications, not Sahi’s original 2021 parole, and did not establish that Sahi was among the files examined.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the 2022 audit has drawn renewed attention in cases involving Afghan nationals who entered the country during the withdrawal.
Homeland Security Investigations Dallas and law enforcement agencies in Arlington, Forney, and other jurisdictions investigated Sahi’s case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allyson Monte of the Fort Worth Division prosecuted it.
