Roy Naim, a leading Jewish activist for immigration reform, was arrested on child pornography charges.
Naim, 29, pleaded not guilty last week in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn to charges of receiving child pornography, CNN reported.
The Brooklyn resident, who immigrated to the United States with his family from Israel at 3, was one of 35 undocumented immigrants featured in a Time magazine profile in 2012. The Jewish Daily Forward referred to Naim as “the Jewish face of the immigration reform struggle.”
His Facebook page lists a volunteer position at Yachad, a nationwide organization for Jews with disabilities, though a spokesperson for the Orthodox Union, Yachad’s parent organization, said Naim only volunteered once, in 2009.
According to the indictment, Naim led federal agents to his computer and admitted to viewing and downloading child pornography for multiple years.
If convicted, Naim faces five to 20 years in prison.
On his Facebook page, Naim wrote:
Looking at me, you see an human, Learn about me, you see a complex being. It matters not ones’ belief, orientation, color or whatever other labels we can come up with. What matters, at the end, is that we are beings of love, and we are capable of being kind to one another just because. Let LOVE be at the forefront of how you filter someone. Thanks Do Something for today’s important message about sharing one thing you wouldn’t know just by looking at me. Sending lots of love and positive energy to you all.
JTA contributed to this report.