Police Seek Additional Victims, Witnesses in Sex Crimes Case

The Norcross Police Department, the FBI and Gwinnett County Police are seeking information on a man who was arrested and charged with sex crimes earlier this month.

Syed Hasan Abidi, 31, of Atlanta, was arrested by Norcross Police on March 4 on charges of rape and aggravated sodomy.

Later in the month, an investigation by the Gwinnett County Police Department Vice Unit determined that Abidi had been advertising opportunities for teenage girls to make money on various websites including craigslist.com and backpage.com, according to a news release Gwinnett spokesman Cpl. Jake Smith.

"The investigation revealed that Abidi was attempting to lure young women into situations that amounted to prostitution and rape," according to Smith.

GCPD Vice detectives have since charged Abidi with two counts of pandering, two counts of pimping, and one count of criminal attempt to commit human trafficking.

Abidi is the same suspect whose identity was kept confidential when Norcross PD announced that they were according to Norcross Police spokesman Sgt. Bill Grogan. In 2012, a woman called police to report that she had been raped at the Guest Inn off Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Norcross. She didn't want to come forward, so she remained anonymous.

Another woman in Norcross contacted police to report a rape, which led to Abidi's arrest. Officers realized that the details of the two incidents were similar, down to the fact that the suspect allegedly used the same room at Guest Inn during both incidents, according to police.

Norcross PD released a statement two weeks ago asking for the anonymous caller to come forward in order to provide more details, but she has yet to do so, according to Grogan.

GCPD, Norcross Police, and the FBI are seeking additional information on Abidi’s activities. Investigators believe there may be additional victims and witnesses that have not come forward. Anyone with information is asked to call the GCPD tip line at 770-962-6272.

See also:

• Officer Stops Burglary in Progress at Norcross Home
  

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