An Oregon man posing as an undercover police officer final month kidnapped a girl in Seattle, sexually assaulted her, drove her to his residence and locked her in a makeshift cell from which she managed to flee, the F.B.I. stated on Wednesday.
The authorities stated that the suspect, Negasi Zuberi, 29, who was arrested in Nevada on July 16, had been linked to violent sexual assaults in not less than 4 different states and that they have been investigating whether or not he was concerned in others.
“Sadly, we believe there are more victims,” Stephanie Shark, assistant particular agent in control of the F.B.I.’s Portland workplace, stated at a news convention on Wednesday.
Mr. Zuberi was taken into custody after he was noticed by two Nevada law enforcement officials together with his spouse and youngsters in a Walmart parking zone in Reno, based on a prison grievance filed in federal court docket in Medford, Ore. He will face a cost of interstate kidnapping, which carries a most sentence of life in jail, based on Nathan Lichvarcik, chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Eugene and Medford, Ore.
A lawyer representing Mr. Zuberi didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Wednesday.
On July 15, the day earlier than his arrest, Mr. Zuberi solicited a girl in Seattle “to engage in prostitution,” based on the prison grievance. After having a sexual encounter with the girl, who was recognized solely as “Adult Victim 1,” Mr. Zuberi instructed her that he was an undercover police officer and that he needed to take her into custody, the grievance states.
Mr. Zuberi positioned the girl in handcuffs, put her within the again seat of his car and drove her from Seattle to his residence in Klamath Falls, Ore., about 450 miles away, based on the grievance. At some level on the drive, Mr. Zuberi pulled over and compelled the girl to have intercourse with him, the grievance stated.
When they arrived at Mr. Zuberi’s residence, he put her in a makeshift cell that he had inbuilt his storage, based on the grievance.
“The cell was made of cinder blocks and a metal door installed in reserve so it could not be opened from the inside,” the grievance stated.
Mr. Zuberi left the girl within the cell for a couple of hours, telling her he wanted to do paperwork, based on the grievance. She was in a position, nevertheless, to pressure her approach out, Capt. Rob Reynolds of the Klamath Falls Police Department stated on the news convention. The F.B.I. stated in a press release that the girl had been in a position to break the cell door by repeatedly hitting it.
“If she didn’t do what she did, we wouldn’t be here today, and Mr. Zuberi would not be in custody,” Captain Reynolds stated. Details about how she escaped couldn’t be shared due to the lively investigation, Captain Reynolds stated.
As quickly as she escaped, the girl flagged down the primary car she noticed, Captain Reynolds stated. The car’s driver known as 911, and the girl was taken to a hospital, based on the grievance.
The authorities didn’t determine the place the opposite sexual assaults to which that they had linked Mr. Zuberi had occurred.
Mr. Zuberi has lived Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Florida, Ms. Shark stated. She stated that he had used a lot of aliases, together with Sakima Zuberi, Justin Kouassi and Justin Hyche.
“It is believed he may have used several different methods to gain control of his victims,” Ms. Shark stated, together with “drugging their drinks and impersonating a law enforcement officer.”
The authorities requested that anybody with details about Mr. Zuberi contact the F.B.I.
“We are concerned that it if we work backwards, we’re going to find unfortunately numerous victims,” Ms. Shark stated.
Source: www.nytimes.com