Police in Hillsborough County, Florida, have arrested a Bangladeshi university professor on serious charges related to the recording, possession, and distribution of bestiality material. The suspect, identified as Raihan Abdul Baten, was taken into custody on 29 October 2026 following an investigation into explicit media involving animal sexual abuse.
According to official law enforcement records, formal charges against Baten allege that he filmed sexual acts with a goat, retained the illicit photos and videos, and distributed the material over the internet. He currently remains in police custody in Florida pending further legal proceedings.
Prior to his arrest, Baten served as an Assistant Professor at the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing at the University of South Florida (USF). According to the university’s official records, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). He subsequently moved to the United States for higher studies, obtaining his Master’s degree and completing his PhD at the University of Rochester in 2022.
The high-profile arrest of an academic with an accomplished scholastic background has sent shockwaves through the international academic community and the Bangladeshi diaspora in the United States. Following the news, details regarding Baten’s background and political affiliations have resurfaced. Former university peers indicate that during his undergraduate years at BUET, Baten was associated with Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
Family and social sources suggest that Baten and his wife, Fatema Tuz Zohra, have maintained political support for Jamaat-e-Islami. During the July 2024 mass uprising in Bangladesh, Baten actively engaged on social media platforms, adopting red profile frames and posting messages in support of the movement.
Under United States federal and state laws, charges involving animal cruelty and the distribution of illicit media carry severe criminal penalties upon conviction. Law enforcement authorities in Florida continue to review the seized digital evidence as formal judicial proceedings progress.
