Court documents reveal that the victim of an alleged vicious sexual assault remembers some of the suspects telling her about being unhappy with the way they were treated in the United States. Five Iraqi nationals were arrested in connection with the case.
Two are charged with the crime while all five are charged as accessories with the crime. Some of the victim’s injuries were described by police as being “rarely seen.”
"I can tell you this is one of the most horrific sexual assaults I've seen in my career as a police officer," said Lt. Howard Black with the Colorado Springs Police Department.
More specifics about the victim’s injuries were redacted from publicly available documents to protect the victim’s privacy.
According to police, the victim reported overhearing a scuffle involving several people at about 1:30 a.m. at the Wildridge Apartments on July 21. She works the night shift and was out checking her mailbox at the time. She decided to stand between the two groups of men in an attempt to calm them down.
Following the fight, the victim told police she was invited inside an apartment by one of the men. There, she met three other men who were about 20 years old.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim described a conversation with the men that centered on how unhappy they were with the treatment they received in the United States. The men also spoke about “the Untied States oppressing them and calling them terrorists.”
The victim told police the men reminded her of her own son and she wanted to help calm them down. She also sympathized because she had been in the military and previously lived in foreign countries.
During their conversation, the victim was given what she believed was lemonade. Police say she has no recollection of what happened after that.
On July 22, officers found a significant amount of blood throughout the apartment where the alleged attack occurred and also in the victim's apartment. One officer also spoke to a neighbor who lives directly below the victim’s apartment. According to the affidavit, the neighbor described speaking to the victim and described her as “out of it.” The neighbor also saw her bleeding.
As the investigation continued, the affidavit says the victim was able to identify Sarmad Fadhil Mohammed in a photographic lineup. Looking at the photo, the victim identified him as the male who held a knife during the original disturbance. She also remembered that he had exposed himself to her before she lost consciousness.
When a search warrant was executed at the apartment where the assault occurred, tactical officers found Ali Mohammed Hasan Al Juboori, Yasir Jabbar Jasim, Sarmad Fadhi Mohammed and Mustafa Sataar Al Feraji inside. The affidavit says all four agreed to go to the Police Operations Center to be interviewed.
The affidavit details Sarmad Fadhil Mohammed’s interview first. It says he admitted to carrying a kitchen knife during the fight, but said he was trying to assist a friend named “J.” When they all returned to the apartment, Mohammed said he offered the woman a drink of rum asked her if she was there to have sex. He says she refused, said she twice stopped “J” from performing oral sex on her.
Mohammed also told police that he was falling asleep on the couch when he awoke to hear the woman groan. He asked her to leave, he said, because he did not want the blood stains in his apartment.
The next two interviews detailed in the documents involved of Yasir Jabaar Jasim. During the second interview, he admitted having lied previously about what he witnessed in the apartment. According to the papers, Jasim said he saw “J” force oral sex on the victim and violently assault her.
Jasim also told police there was blood everywhere and that “J” told him, “Man, she’s going to die.”
Jasim, Mohammed and Mustafa Sataar Al Feraji all told officers that the man they knew as “J” was probably named Jaseen Ramadan. Officers investigated and found a photo of Jasim Mohammed Hassin Ramadon that each man identified as the being the same person.
A warrant was issued for Ramadon on July 26, and he was arrested the next day. According to the affidavit, he admitted the victim was in the apartment but denied having any sexual contact with her. He claimed it was Al Feraji who sexually assaulted her and caused the injury.
The detective also wrote in the affidavit that Ramadon claimed he was the one who helped the victim home after she was injured and bleeding.
In the following days, several of the suspects were re-interviewed. In the end, Sarmad Fadhi Mohammed and Jasim Mohammed Hassin Ramadon were arrested for both the sexual assault and being accessories to the crime. Mustafa Sataar Al Feraji, Ali Mohammed Hasan Al Juboori and Yasir Jabbar Jasim were also arrested and charged as accessories.
All of the suspects obtained a lawful permanent resident status within the past five years.
A spokesperson from the District Attorney’s office told 11 News Tuesday if the men are convicted they will serve their time here and then be deported. If they're found not guilty they will likely still be sent back to Iraq.
A check of the suspect's criminal backgrounds indicates this is the first time they've been in serious trouble with the law.
All five men were in jail late Tuesday night
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