Coeur d’Alene grand jury indicts federal inmate on charges of sexual exploitation of a child

COEUR d’ALENE — A federal grand jury in Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday returned an indictment charging an Arkansas federal inmate with sexual exploitation of an Idaho child, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho said.

Hamza L. Nijmeh, 39, is charged with sexual exploitation of a child.

Prosecutors allege that between August 2023 and October 2023, Nijmeh used multiple cellphones to sexually exploit a child in Idaho while Nijmeh was in a federal prison in Forrest City, Arkansas.

Nijmeh was convicted in 2017 of distributing child pornography and receiving child pornography, court documents show.

If convicted of sexual exploitation of a child, Nijmeh faces 25 to 50 years in federal prison. He faces an additional 10 years of consecutive prison time for committing a crime involving a minor while required to register as a sex offender, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.