An Indian man named Hemant Kumar Khanna has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by a court in California, USA, after being found guilty in a child-related sexual offence case.
According to officials, the court found him guilty of attempting to commit an inappropriate lewd sexual act involving a child. In the United States, crimes involving children are treated as very serious offences, and the law takes strict action in such cases.
After completing his local jail sentence, Hemant Kumar Khanna was released from custody on April 30. However, he was not allowed to remain free for long. Soon after his release, officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immediately took him into custody again.
ICE is a U.S. government agency that handles immigration-related matters and also takes action against non-U.S. citizens involved in serious crimes.
Officials said Hemant was arrested under a section of American immigration law that applies to non-citizens convicted of very serious crimes, known in US law as “aggravated felonies.”
In simple terms, this means that if a foreign citizen commits certain serious crimes in the United States, the person can face immigration action even after finishing a jail or prison sentence.
So, even though Hemant completed his criminal punishment, he may now face deportation proceedings. Deportation means being officially removed from the United States and sent back to his home country.
The final decision will be taken by immigration authorities and courts in the U.S. Depending on the outcome of those proceedings, Hemant could be deported to India.
The case has received attention online because it involves both a serious criminal conviction and possible deportation afterward.
In the United States, authorities usually move very quickly in cases involving crimes against children, especially when the accused person is not an American citizen. Once a person is convicted under these serious crime categories, it becomes much harder for them to stay legally in the country.
The incident also shows how criminal law and immigration law work together in the American legal system. Even after a prison sentence ends, a non-citizen can still face separate immigration consequences, including detention by ICE and possible removal from the country.
At present, further immigration proceedings against Khanna are expected to continue in the United States.
The Superior Court of California in Contra Costa County sentenced Hemant Kumar Khanna, of India, to 18 months of incarceration for attempting a lewd act on a child.
ICE arrested him April 30 upon his release, based on the following charge:
⚖️INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(iii): Alien… pic.twitter.com/YlJPG1YkDx— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) May 16, 2026
