Former MSU Student Sentenced in ISIS Case

OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI-TV) – 20 year old Jaelyn Young is sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for attempting to join ISIS.

In this Oct. 5, 2012 photo, Jaelyn Young, an honor student at Warren Central High School, poses for a photo in Vicksburg, Miss. Young and another Mississippi resident were arrested on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015, on charges that they were trying to travel abroad to join the Islamic State militant group. (Melanie Thortis/The Vicksburg Evening Post via the AP)

The former Mississippi State University student took the stand today in federal court in Oxford.  Young’s parents also testified before Federal Judge Sharion Aycock during the sentencing phase.

Young and  Muhammad Dakhlalla of Starkville were arrested at Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Lowndes County on August 8, 2015.

Federal investigators say the Starkville man was dating  Young when she came up with the idea and convinced Dakhlalla to join the terrorist network in Syria last year.

Prosecutors say in May 2015 an FBI employee started sharing messages with Young and Dakhlalla on the Internet and social media.

Dakhalla made a payment to expedite his and Young’s passport so they could make the trip to Syria, first posing as honeymooners in Greece.

Young reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in March.

Court documents show Dakhlalla admitted to conspiring to provide material support or resources to the terrorist organization.

The FBI says he and Young left notes behind explaining they would never return and that Young was the mastermind of the plan.

Dakhalla is scheduled to be sentence later this month.