Pittsfield Township man convicted of traveling to New York to have sex with minor
A Pittsfield Township man has been convicted of traveling to New York last year to have sex with a 14-year-old girl he met in an online chat room.
Muchamad Syaugy Ali Syech pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Detroit to one count of interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, court records show.
FBI agents said Ali Syech was 33 years old when he drove on March 5, 2011, from Michigan to New York, where he picked up the girl near her home in a small town outside Albany. He took her to a hotel in North Greenbrush, where they had sex.
Agents said Ali Syech started chatting with the girl in November 2009 in the chat room "home alone," telling her he was 17 after learning she was in middle school.
Ali Syech is a citizen of Indonesia and was in the United States because his wife was attending graduate school at the University of Michigan. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 19, when he faces up to 30 years in prison.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
RJA
Thu, Aug 9, 2012 : 5:31 p.m.
Personally I don't think anyone under the age of 18 should be allowed on line on chat or Facebook. Parents should have more control. It is so easy to just lie about ones birthdate and age. This so called man is 33, will no doubt spend time in prison, and the 14 yr. old girl will get off free. Does this make sense? No, it sucks!
djm12652
Sat, Feb 18, 2012 : 4 a.m.
I fervently hope the moderator has not removed comments regarding this guy and his guilt. He pleaded guilty...so it is said...so it will be. Upon release from prison, he must be immediately deported. Doesn't matter if he has family here or not. This guy is an admitted threat to children online and possibly even locally.
walker101
Sat, Feb 18, 2012 : 12:30 a.m.
I'll bet you can't say Muchamad Syaugy Ali Syech real fast 5 times.
djm12652
Sat, Feb 18, 2012 : 4:02 a.m.
real fast 5 times
The Black Stallion3
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 5:12 p.m.
Is his wife a US citizen?
djm12652
Sat, Feb 18, 2012 : 4:01 a.m.
Doesn't matter, he is not a citizen so he must go as soon as released from the prison sentence he will be serving!
Superior Twp voter
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 4:44 p.m.
One word on sentencing: DEPORTATION.
Jim Osborn
Sat, Feb 18, 2012 : 1:34 p.m.
R U joking? That sort of "penalty" is no different that that self imposed penalty of fleeing to avoid a crime. He should be deported only AFTER serving his long prison sentence, otherwise the message is " do the deed and be sent home" WHat if he had been planning on leaving anyway? We'd be giving him a free ticket.
The Black Stallion3
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 4:42 p.m.
I wonder what his penalty will be if he is found guilty?
The Black Stallion3
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 4:40 p.m.
I would assume we are not allowed to use free speech on this thread.
jj45678
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 9:59 p.m.
You would be correct :-). They have a pretty strict guideline here for what you can and can't say in a comment. The deleted comments are no doubt the most interesting (and probably insightful) but alas we will never know...
Jim Osborn
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 1:53 p.m.
The question to ask should have been: What if he had actually been a woman, and had done this in his native land? The guy is a monster, or worse, and I like this case especially since it is not a virtual or thought case with a pretend 14-year old who was actually a police officer, but a "he did it case". I hope that his wife goes back home w/o her husband, who remains in prison for a spell.
TinyArtist
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 4:30 p.m.
Does this even make sense?
Hunybee3
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 2:58 p.m.
Why would we ask that? They are talking about what he did here and now!
YpsiLivin
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 2:26 p.m.
According to the information I've found, the age of consent in Indonesia is 19 for males and 16 for females. The penalty for child sexual abuse is 10 years in prison and a fine of about $20,000. Certain areas of Indonesia can apply Sharia law (only upon Muslims, in theory). If that law is applied, the age of consummation (which doesn't say anything about consent) is 9, but that assumes that the persons involved are married.
M
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 1:53 p.m.
Seems pretty open and shut. Bake him away, toys.
EyeHeartA2
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 1:36 p.m.
Wonder what the penalty in Indonesia is for this?
snapshot
Tue, Feb 21, 2012 : 4:05 a.m.
It's a cultural determination.
ThaKillaBee
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 1:32 p.m.
Sounds like one classy guy. I feel bad for his wife and hope she's able to recover from this sick betrayal.
snapshot
Tue, Feb 21, 2012 : 4:09 a.m.
His wife had to know something was up if he was here because she is a student at U of M. Why would he be going to N.Y.? She wouldn't ask the reason?
djm12652
Sat, Feb 18, 2012 : 3:57 a.m.
@smokeblwr...doesn't legalize sex with a 14 year old....that's not only a serious crime, but seriously perverted.
smokeblwr
Fri, Feb 17, 2012 : 1:48 p.m.
It might have been one of those arranged open marriages.