Arrest of Social Justice Advocate Linked to Child Exploitation

A Texas professor, who presented himself as a “social justice advocate,” has been arrested for allegedly streaming child sexual abuse videos from his home.

Zaid Mashour Haddad was taken into custody on Tuesday following an FBI investigation. Reports claim that he had admitted to streaming illegal content during the execution of a search warrant. The videos reportedly depicted victims as young as 7 or 8 years old.

Details from conversations on Telegram suggested that he had established patterns for accessing and storing links related to child sexual abuse.

Haddad was employed at the University of Texas at San Antonio and had also delivered a lecture at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. He faces one count of possession of child pornography, as well as another count for knowingly accessing such material with the intent to view it, as stated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.

There has been some public concern regarding the timing of his arrest, especially considering that officials had started their investigation back in July 2021.

As expressed by criminal lawyer Joe Helcher, “It’s shocking to think that someone who could have potentially abused children had been in our community for four years, in a position to access them.”

Haddad held the title of “social justice advocate” according to the UTSA profile.

If convicted, he could face a lengthy prison sentence—up to 20 years—along with substantial fines.

He also worked as an assistant faculty member at Nevada State University and was recognized with the “LGBTQ Lavender Faculty” award in 2016.