Todd Haywood and Josh Sanchez
8 minutes ago
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – The Holt High School boys basketball coach is on administrative leave after being charged with four felonies in 54-A District Court.
Muhammad El-Amin was arraigned Friday morning and released on a personal recognizance bond. He was charged with one count of child sexual abuse material and one count of using a computer and the Internet to communicate with another person to commit a crime. He faces one count of using a computer to commit a crime and one count of soliciting a child for immoral purposes.
These felonies stem from what Lansing Police Department Deputy Chief Robert Backus called a “child-predation operation” involving the Lansing Police Department, Eaton County Sheriff's Department and Michigan State Police.
“On May 2, 2024, at approximately 8:20 p.m., members of the Lansing Police Department Special Operations Division, Eaton County Sheriff's Office, and Michigan State Police arrested Muhammad El Amin,” Backus said Friday night. stated in a news release. 36-year-old man undergoing surgery for child predator. ”
The two computer fees are imposed under different Michigan laws. The first one use a computer to commit a crime. the other one is, computer to communicate to commit a crime together with another person.Charges found under the Child Sexual Abuse Act here. The laws that charge children with immoral purposes are: here.
6 News was unable to contact El-Amin directly. The family did not respond to requests for comment. Former teammates and people close to the former professional basketball player contacted by 6News tonight expressed “shock” at the charges but declined to comment further.
El-Amin's arrest and charges were first revealed in a letter from Holt Public Schools Superintendent David Hornak.
“At this time, there is no information that would lead us to believe that this incident involves a student in the district or occurred on district property,” Hornak wrote in the letter.
While a student at Holt High School, El-Amin was a high school standout, a trend that continued into college at Lansing Community College and Stony Brook University in New York. After graduating from college, El Amin moved onto overseas pro circuits. Various European news outlets reported that he played for teams in Greece, Italy, Hungary, Qatar, and Israel. He returned to Lansing and played for the Lansing Pharaohs, a short-lived semi-pro team that played at Lansing's Don Johnson Fieldhouse.
El-Amin is scheduled to reappear in court for a probable cause hearing on May 17th and a preliminary hearing on May 24th.