USC employee charged in sting operation for allegedly attempting to meet underage girl
THIS IS WYFF NEWS FOUR TODAY. COMING UP ON WYFF NEWS FOUR, WE’RE CONTINUING TO FOLLOW BREAKING NEWS IN PHILADELPHIA. AFTER A SMALL PLANE CRASH CAUSES A FIERY EXPLOSION. IT’S ANOTHER MAJOR AVIATION INCIDENT IN JUST THE LAST FEW DAYS. PLUS, FLAMES ERUPT AT AN APPLE PACKING PLANT IN NORTH CAROLINA. THE LATEST ON THAT INVESTIGATION JUST AHEAD. GOOD MORNING. I’M PEYTON FURTADO. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US HERE TODAY ON YOUR SATURDAY. 701 LET’S TAKE A LOOK OUTSIDE OUR HILTON GREENVILLE SKYCAM. OH, GOSH. SORRY. HA HILTON GREENVILLE SKYCAM I JUST GET TAKEN ABACK BY HOW BEAUTIFUL WE GREENVILLE CAN BE. 40 DEGREES FEELS LIKE 40 DEGREES. GORGEOUS. START TO YOUR SATURDAY MORNING. WE HAVE SYDNEY SULLIVAN TO TELL US IF THAT GORGEOUS START IS GOING TO CONTINUE. YES, SYDNEY. BREATHTAKING SUNRISE. OH MY GOODNESS. I MEAN, IT TRULY LEAVES YOU SPEECHLESS. IT’S ONE OF THOSE MORNINGS YOU HAVE THAT WARM CUP OF COFFEE. IF YOU CAN STEP OUTSIDE, DO SO. SOAK IN THIS GORGEOUS SUNRISE AND THIS BEAUTIFUL WEATHER ALL ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST. AFTER A BIT OF A RAINY FINISH TO THE MONTH OF JANUARY, THINGS ARE SHAPING UP VERY NICELY FOR TODAY. NOT ONLY ARE WE LOOKING AT QUIET WEATHER SETTLING ON IN, BUT IT IS COMING WITH A LOT OF SUNSHINE AND WARMER TEMPERATURES. SO AS OF RIGHT NOW, YES, WE ARE STILL LOOKING AT A LITTLE BIT OF A COOLER START THIS MORNING IN THE 30S. NOW IN GREENVILLE, 39 DEGREES 45 IN ANDERSON, AS WELL AS SPARTANBURG AND ASHEVILLE. SO WE ARE SEEING A FEW 30 SPRINKLED ON IN. BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WE ARE LOOKING AT TEMPERATURES QUITE A BIT WARMER THAN WHERE THEY WERE THIS TIME LAST WEEK. SO VERY DIFFERENT PACE FOR US AS WE HEAD ON INTO THIS WEEKEND. BUT WITH ALL THE SUNSHINE, OUR TEMPERATURES WILL REBOUND VERY NICELY THIS AFTERNOON. OTHER THAN MAYBE A FEW EXTRA CLOUDS THIS MORNING, MOST OF US ARE LOOKING AT MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES, TEMPERATURES GETTING INTO THE LOWER 60S THIS AFTERNOON. THAT IS GOING TO FEEL FANTASTIC. AND EVEN FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE CLOUD COVER, TEMPERATURES SHOULD REACH THAT 50 DEGREE MARK. BUT COMING UP, WE’LL HAVE A CLOSER LOOK AS TO HOW LONG THIS WARMING TREND WILL STICK AROUND AND TIME OUT. OUR NEXT CHANCE FOR RAIN. PEYTON. THANK YOU SYDNEY. BREAKING NEWS IN ANDERSON COUNTY NOW, WHERE THE CORONER’S OFFICE HAS IDENTIFIED A MAN KILLED ON THE FRONT STEPS OF HIS HOME. POLICE SAY THIS HAPPENED AROUND 740 LAST NIGHT ON OSBORN AVENUE IN ANDERSON. OFFICERS SAY THEY FOUND 20 YEAR OLD MICHAEL ALLEN ROACH WITH A FATAL GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE HEAD. HE DIED AT THE SCENE AND WE’RE TOLD THAT SEVERAL PEOPLE WERE SEEN RUNNING AWAY RIGHT AFTER THAT SHOOTING. NOW, THIS IS BEING INVESTIGATED AS A HOMICIDE RIGHT NOW. NO WORD ON ANY ARRESTS AT THIS POINT. NOW TO SOME BREAKING NEWS IN PHILADELPHIA, WHERE A SMALL PLANE CRASHED IN A FIERY EXPLOSION LAST NIGHT. THIS COMES JUST TWO DAYS AFTER THAT DEADLY MIDAIR COLLISION IN WASHINGTON, DC, BETWEEN AN AMERICAN AIRLINES PASSENGER JET AND A BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER. THE CRASH HAPPENED JUST AFTER 6:00 THAT NIGHT NEAR THE ROOSEVELT MALL. THAT’S AN OUTDOOR SHOPPING CENTER. YOU CAN SEE THAT PLANE CRASHED INTO A STREET NEAR A VERY BUSY INTERSECTION, CAUSING AN EXPLOSION. OFFICIALS SAY A MEDICAL TRANSPORT JET WAS CARRYING SIX PEOPLE. JET RESCUE AIR AMBULANCE SAYS A PEDIATRIC PATIENT AND HIS OR HER MOTHER WERE ON BOARD, ALONG WITH FOUR CREW MEMBERS. THE PLANE COMPANY SAYS IT CANNOT CONFIRM ANY SURVIVORS AT THIS POINT. PENNSYLVANIA’S GOVERNOR SAYS THE PLANE CRASHED JUST 30S AFTER TAKEOFF. PHILADELPHIA’S MAYOR SAYS THE SCENE REMAINS VERY ACTIVE, SO RIGHT NOW WE’RE JUST ASKING FOR PRAYERS FOR ANY AND EVERYONE WHO MAY HAVE BEEN AFFECTED. WE DO WANT TO NOTE THAT SEVERAL DWELLINGS AND VEHICLES WERE IMPACTED. THE PLANE COMPANY SAYS THE CHILD HAD BEEN TREATED IN PHILADELPHIA FOR A LIFE THREATENING CONDITION AND WAS BEING TAKEN HOME TO MEXICO. THEY SAY THE FLIGHT WAS FIRST SUPPOSED TO STOP IN MISSOURI. THE NTSB WILL LEAD THIS INVESTIGATION, AND 41 BODIES HAVE BEEN RECOVERED FROM THE POTOMAC RIVER AFTER A MID-AIR COLLISION WEDNESDAY NIGHT BETWEEN AN AMERICAN AIRLINES REGIONAL JET AND A U.S. ARMY BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER. ALL 67 PEOPLE ON BOARD THOSE AIRCRAFT ARE PRESUMED DEAD, LEAVING COMMUNITIES GRIEVING. THE NTSB AND FIRST RESPONDERS CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR EVIDENCE AND ANSWERS. BRIAN ABEL HAS THE LATEST. AS FIRST RESPONDERS CONTINUE THE ARDUOUS TASK OF RECOVERING EVIDENCE AND VICTIMS FROM THE FRIGID WATERS OF THE POTOMAC RIVER FRIDAY. THERE’S SO MUCH MUD, THERE’S NO VISIBILITY. SOME POSITIVE NEWS FROM INVESTIGATORS. I CAN REPORT TO YOU NOW. WE HAVE RECOVERED THE SIKORSKY BLACK BOX. AS MANY AROUND THE COUNTRY MOURN THE VICTIMS OF THE AIR COLLISION. WELL, THE WHOLE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN AFFECTED. THERE IS A STUNNED SILENCE, IF YOU WILL. THE VICTIMS SAID TO BE AMONG THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST FROM MEMBERS OF THE FLIGHT CREW. IAN WAS JUST A BALL OF VIBRANT, LIKE, COLORFUL ENERGY TO THE PASSENGERS. KIA DUGGINS, A BEAUTY QUEEN, TURNED CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY, WAS ALSO AMONG THE 60 PASSENGERS AND FOUR CREW MEMBERS ON THAT AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT FROM WICHITA, KANSAS, BOUND FOR REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT IN WASHINGTON. SHE WAS JUST SO YOUNG AND SUCH A RADIANT PERSON. 14 PASSENGERS WERE MEMBERS OF THE FIGURE SKATING COMMUNITY FROM LEGENDARY SKATERS. IT’S NOT SOMETHING LIKE I CAN EVEN COMPREHEND RIGHT NOW TO A BUDDING FIGURE SKATERS AND THEIR PARENTS SEEMED LIKE THE FLIGHT HAD LANDED, BUT THEIR PHONES WEREN’T ON AND THEY WEREN’T, LIKE, POPPING UP ANYWHERE. THE U.S. ARMY HAS RELEASED THE NAMES OF TWO OF THE THREE SOLDIERS ON BOARD THE BLACK HAWK. 28 YEAR OLD STAFF SERGEANT RYAN AUSTIN O’HARA WAS THE HELICOPTER’S CREW CHIEF. HE LEAVES BEHIND A WIFE AND A ONE YEAR OLD SON. THAT WAS BRIAN ABEL REPORTING. THEIR FLIGHT DATA APPEARS TO SHOW THAT THE HELICOPTER WAS FLYING ABOVE THE MAXIMUM ALTITUDE. THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND SAFETY BOARD, WHICH IS LEADING THIS INVESTIGATION, SAYS WITH BOTH THE PLANES AND HELICOPTERS, BLACK BOXES RECOVERED, THEY’RE HOPING TO EXAMINE THEM IN THE NEAR FUTURE AND FIGURE OUT WHY EXACTLY THIS HAPPENED. AND WE’RE LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE VICTIMS. ONE WAS A FORMER STUDENT AT BOB JONES UNIVERSITY. ACCORDING TO THE SCHOOL’S ALUMNI FACEBOOK PAGE, CASEY CRAFTON GRADUATED IN 2008, IN AVIATION MANAGEMENT. HE WAS ONE OF 64 PEOPLE ON THE AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT. BJU PRESIDENT JOSH CROCKETT SAYS HE TAUGHT CASEY AND SPEECH CLASSES FRESHMAN YEAR. IN A STATEMENT, CROCKETT SAYS IN PART, QUOTE, I KNOW THE BJU ALUMNI WILL RALLY AROUND THIS FAMILY AND SUPPORT THEM DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME. END QUOTE. ACCORDING TO THE ALUMNI GROUP, CASEY’S WIFE IS ALSO A GRADUATE OF BJU. HE LEAVES BEHIND THREE YOUNG SONS AND AN ARTIST FROM TEXAS, TRAVELED TO THE NATION’S CAPITAL TO CREATE A MONUMENT IN HONOR OF THE VICTIMS FROM WEDNESDAY’S DEADLY CRASH. ROBERTO MARQUEZ BEGAN PLANTING CROSSES ALONG THE ROAD NEAR THE AIRPORT EARLY YESTERDAY MORNING. HE HOPES TO INSTALL 67 OF THEM, ONE FOR EACH VICTIM. I THINK IT’S THE PEOPLE THAT DIED AS THEY SUFFER THE THE BIGGEST SACRIFICE. AND FOR ME TO COME AND BUILD THE CROSSES IN THIS, TO THIS, A SMALL GESTURE OF SUPPORT. IT IS SOMETHING THAT I DO WITH ALL MY HEART. MARQUEZ SAYS HE HOPES THE MEMORIAL WILL PROVIDE SOME COMFORT FOR THE FAMILIES THAT LOST A LOVED ONE IN THIS TRAGIC CRASH. AND BACK HOME, CENTURIES OF HISTORY LOST IN A FIRE FRIDAY. THE APPLE WEDGE PACKING PLANT IN HENDERSON COUNTY WAS KNOWN FOR THEIR ORCHARDS AND THEIR CIDERS, AND YESTERDAY, THE FAMILY BUSINESS THAT WAS STANDING FOR GENERATIONS BURNED DOWN. OUR NATE STANLEY HAS THE LATEST ON THE INVESTIGATION, PLUS THE IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY. THE FIRE MARSHAL TELLS ME THIS HISTORIC PACKING PLANT IS NOW A TOTAL LOSS. HE SAYS THE FIRE STARTED EARLY FRIDAY AFTERNOON BEHIND THE BUILDING WITH SOME APPLE CRATES. THEN FLAMES WENT THROUGH THE BUILDING, LEAVING THESE CHARRED REMAINS THAT CREWS WORKED HOURS PUTTING OUT. DEVASTATING. THIS FAMILY BUSINESS THAT IS SIX GENERATIONS IN THE MAKING. CREWS WERE HARD AT WORK FRIDAY NIGHT, EXTINGUISHING A MASSIVE BUILDING FIRE. HENDERSON COUNTY FIRE MARSHAL KEVIN WALDRIP SAYS THE FIRE BEGAN SHORTLY AFTER 1 P.M. THEY GOT DISPATCHED AT 111 THIS AFTERNOON FOR SOME APPLE BOXES THAT WAS ON FIRE OUTSIDE. ONCE THEY ARRIVED AT 116, THEY FOUND THAT THE BOXES HAD ENCROACHED INTO THE STRUCTURE. CREWS WORKED HARD FOR HOURS TO CONTAIN THE FLAMES LINING THE STREET WITH FIRE TRUCKS AND SHUTTING DOWN THE ROAD. WE HAVE DEPARTMENTS HERE FROM HENDERSON, POLK, BUNCOMBE AND TRANSYLVANIA. WITH ABOUT 22 DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS HERE. WE HAD A CONTROL TIME A LITTLE BEFORE DARK. WALDROP SAYS THE AFTERNOON RAIN DID NOT IMPACT THE BUILDING FIRE, BUT MAY HAVE PREVENTED IT FROM TRAVELING TO THE ORCHARD. IT DID HELP A LITTLE BIT ON THIS BRUSH FIRE. NORTH CAROLINA FOREST SERVICE COME WHERE IT WAS GETTING OUT IN THE ORCHARD, AND IT DID HELP WITH THAT. BUT AS FAR AS THE BUILDING GOES, IT IT DIDN’T HELP THAT. WE BRIEFLY SPOKE WITH THE FAMILY OFF CAMERA. THEY TELL US THE ORCHARD HAS BEEN AROUND FOR GENERATIONS, AND EMPLOYS PACKING AND FIELD WORKERS FROM THE AREA. AN INFLUENTIAL PART OF THE COMMUNITY, NOW IN RUIN. THIS COMMUNITY IS AN APPLE. AN APPLE GROWING COMMUNITY. SO THERE ARE SEVERAL APPLE PACKING HOUSES AND THEY PACK APPLES AND MAKE APPLE CIDER. YOU KNOW, THEY THEY THEY GRADE APPLES. THEY’RE ALL FAMILY. FAMILY OWNED BUSINESSES. AND THIS IS THIS IS ONE OF THE MORE, MORE MODERN AND MORE MORE A LITTLE LARGER THAN SOME OTHERS. AND THE FIRE MARSHAL SAYS NO OFFICIAL CAUSE OF THE FIRE HAS BEEN RELEASED YET. THE INVESTIGATION WILL CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND. REPORTIN
USC employee charged in sting operation for allegedly attempting to meet underage girl
Updated: 4:16 PM EST Feb 1, 2025
On Friday, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced that an employee of the University of South Carolina has been charged for allegedly attempting to entice an underage girl into sexual activity.During a contested bond hearing, an FBI special agent testified that on Dec. 3-4, 2024, multiple agencies participated in an online chat operation targeting child sex offenders where an officer posed as a 14-year-old girl.More News: DEA busts money laundering ring in SC linked to major Mexican drug cartelsMohammad Ebrahim Torki Harchegani, 38, who is a legal resident of the United States and Iranian citizen, engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the alleged 14-year-old girl.Richland County deputies said Torki ultimately traveled to where he believed the girl was home alone to engage in sexual activities with her. He was arrested thereafter.Testimony was also presented that Torki was a researcher at the University of South Carolina at the time of the chat. Upon his arrest, his employment was suspended and his contract with the university was not renewed.Torki was ordered to be detained at the hearing. Authorities said he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.More News: Upstate man behind bars after deadly drive-by restaurant shootingThis case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.The FBI Columbia Field Office, the South Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department participated in the online chat operation and investigated the case.
On Friday, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced that an employee of the University of South Carolina has been charged for allegedly attempting to entice an underage girl into sexual activity.
During a contested bond hearing, an FBI special agent testified that on Dec. 3-4, 2024, multiple agencies participated in an online chat operation targeting child sex offenders where an officer posed as a 14-year-old girl.
More News: DEA busts money laundering ring in SC linked to major Mexican drug cartels
Mohammad Ebrahim Torki Harchegani, 38, who is a legal resident of the United States and Iranian citizen, engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the alleged 14-year-old girl.
Richland County deputies said Torki ultimately traveled to where he believed the girl was home alone to engage in sexual activities with her. He was arrested thereafter.
Testimony was also presented that Torki was a researcher at the University of South Carolina at the time of the chat. Upon his arrest, his employment was suspended and his contract with the university was not renewed.
Torki was ordered to be detained at the hearing. Authorities said he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
More News: Upstate man behind bars after deadly drive-by restaurant shooting
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The FBI Columbia Field Office, the South Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department participated in the online chat operation and investigated the case.
