SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) – A Shelby County woman accused of producing and disseminating child pornography was inspired by her imam, who guided her on a “quest to become closer to God,” according to a federal complaint.

Wisam Sharieff was arrested in Texas, where he lived, following a criminal complaint accusing him of conspiring to produce child pornography.

WBRC 6 News first reported his arrest in October. Days after Blake Barakat A lawsuit was filed on charges of 10 counts of production of pornography directed at minors, 10 counts of dissemination of child pornography, and 3 counts of sexual exploitation of a child under 12 years of age.

Deputy Chief Clay Hammac said at the time of Barakat’s arrest that this was “one of the most difficult and egregious cases that (the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office) has been forced to investigate in a long time.”

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Barakat after receiving a call from the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) regarding possible sexual abuse of a child.

Federal court records reveal that the tip to DHR was made by Sharieff’s wife after she found sexually explicit videos on her husband’s phone of a woman identified only as SUSPECT2 and a child he knew.

WBRC’s reports and sources confirm that SUSPECT2 is Barakat.

At the time of this crime, Sharieff was working as an expert on the recitation and memorization of the Quran at the AlMaghrib Institute and was teaching more than 25,000 people worldwide through online courses, according to federal records.

Barakat was one of his students.

She told federal investigators that Sharieff told her that “reaching orgasm would help her spiritually and allow her to better communicate with God.”

The federal complaint describes sexual abuse of a minor in graphic detail and includes graphic messages that investigators allege were between Sharieff and Barakat about the abuse, which WBRC will not air.

Sharieff appeared before a federal judge in Texas for a preliminary hearing in early November and is currently being held in federal custody in Talladega County.

AlMaghrib Institute issued a statement following Sharieff’s arrestIt says in part: “The safety and protection of AlMaghrib Institute students and community remains our top priority. “This allegation of crime against Wisam Shariff is a shocking and sickening experience for his students and the AlMaghrib Institute staff and instructors who work with him.”

Barakat remains in the Shelby County Jail on $2 million bail. He was not charged federally.

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