Mueller investigation witness pleads guilty to child sex crime charges

George Nader, a Lebanese American businessman who served as a witness in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, pleaded guilty to two charges relating to sexual exploitation of children on Monday, according to The Washington Post.

Nader admitted in the Eastern District of Virginia to bringing a 14-year-old to the U.S. for sexual purposes and possession of child pornography, charges that collectively carry a maximum penalty of 30 years, according to the Post.

Eastern District of Virginia prosecutors agreed to recommend 10 years, the mandatory minimum, in the case, and agreed to recommend Nader, who is a dual citizen, be allowed to voluntarily leave the U.S. following his incarceration, according to the newspaper. His sentencing is set for April 10.

The plea also means prosecutors will not charge him for transportation for child pornography and obscene materials, nor will he face comparable charges in the Eastern District of New York, but he still faces campaign finance charges for donations to both Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C., federal court.

Nader, who was also convicted of transporting child pornography in 1991, first came under Mueller’s radar for his part in brokering a meeting between Blackwater founder Erik Prince, the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and a high-level Russian official with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mueller’s team discovered child pornography on his phone while interviewing him about the meeting, according to the Post.

Nader has claimed the images were not child pornography but admitted to having received an email including violent sexual images of infants in 2012. He argued the sexual abuse, which allegedly took place in early 2000s, could not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations for sex crimes was eliminated in 2006, but the court rejected this argument.