LOS ANGELES (CN) - An Orange County man who admitted he wanted to help al-Qaida by providing weapons training in Pakistan was sentenced Monday to 13 years in federal prison.
Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, 25, of Garden Grove, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, who called the crime "a very serious offense that requires a correspondingly long sentence."
Nguyen pleaded guilty late last year to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
"Using a social network site during a four-month period he was in Syria [in 2012], Nguyen told people that he was fighting against the Assad regime and that he had had a 'confirmed kill,'" prosecutors said in the statement. "After he returned to the United States, Nguyen told associates that he had offered to train al-Qaida forces in Syria, but his offer had been turned down."
Nguyen then told his terrorist plans to an FBI informant, according to the U.S. attorney. He was arrested on Oct. 11, 2013 and has been in jail since then.
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