Former Elementary School Teacher’s Assistant Sentenced For Child-Exploitation Crimes

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former Fairfax County elementary school teacher’s assistant was sentenced today to 12 1/2 years in prison and 20 years of supervised release for the attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and distribution of child pornography.

“Irfan was an elementary school employee who was entrusted with teaching and protecting our community’s children,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “But he was also a wolf in sheep’s clothing looking to prey on the most vulnerable members of our society, and he undertook a horrific hunt for opportunities to sexually abuse children. Our office is committed to working closely with state, local and federal authorities to ferret out such sexual predators, and we commend our investigative partners for their work in this case.”

According to court documents, Monis Irfan, 21, of Springfield, a substitute teacher and third-grade instructional assistant at two Fairfax County elementary schools, began communicating online with an undercover Fairfax County police detective who was posing as the father of a seven-year-old child in January 2019. Irfan repeatedly told the detective that he was interested in and sexually active with children, and discussed his desire to perform graphic sexual acts on the detective’s fictitious child. After several days of sending sexually explicit messages and images, Irfan drove to a predetermined location to meet the undercover detective and engage in sexual acts with the child.  Irfan was arrested at that time. Additional investigation revealed that Irfan received and distributed child pornography videos depicting the sexual abuse of an infant over encrypted messaging apps on his mobile phone, and also used his phone to record a video of himself engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior with a five-year-old child.  

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Timothy R. Slater, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maya D. Song and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Clayman prosecuted the case.

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.

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. 1:19-cr-120.