The People of the State of Illinois v. Musaab Afandi

Chicago, Illinois sexual assault and kidnapping charge criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant.

Musaab Afandi faced charges of sexually assaulting and kidnapping J.C. by posing as an Uber driver outside a bar.





¶ 5 Afandi faced charges of sexually assaulting and kidnapping J.C. by posing as an Uber driver outside a bar. Throughout the proceedings, Afandi required help from an Arabic interpreter. The judge admonished witnesses to speak slowly to accommodate the interpreter.



¶ 6 Jury Trial



¶ 7 J.C. testified that Afandi, posing as her Uber driver, picked her up outside a bar around 2 a.m. and took her to a secluded place where he sexually assaulted her. She had between two and four drinks that evening, though she could not recall the exact number. At the time, J.C. weighed about 120 pounds. During the assault, she feigned sleep and "clenched" her teeth to avoid oral penetration while he straddled her in the passenger seat. She testified that Afandi spoke with an accent.



¶ 8 Later, police found a video on Afandi's phone of J.C. apparently sleeping in his front passenger seat. Her pants were partially down, and Afandi had exposed her breast.



¶ 9 The State called K.F. and N.F. to show Afandi had a propensity for sexual assault and an accent. Both described similar events. N.F. noted his "thick accent and broken English." DNA testing revealed that Afandi could not be excluded as a contributor in J.C.'s and K.F.'s cases and was a match in N.F.'s case.



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¶ 10 Afandi testified that he was born in Baghdad, Iraq, and came to the United States for safety after working with the U.S. armed forces in Iraq. He recounted meeting J.C. at a bar three months before the incident. That night, he saw her at the same bar, and she consented to ride with him and to his kissing and touching. He admitted filming her while she was dancing and asleep in his car. He said he weighed between 185 and 190 pounds at the time.



¶ 11 In rebuttal, the State presented forensic testimony that Afandi's phone contained only one video (of J.C. asleep). Cellular data did not show communications between J.C. and Afandi. The sergeant who recovered Afandi's cell phone testified that Afandi appeared to weigh 250 pounds.



¶ 12 During closing arguments, the State asserted that it had proven its case and called into question Afandi's credibility. Defense counsel spoke about Afandi having survived a roadside explosive attack in Iraq and taken refuge in the United States, which entitled him to the same rights as everyone else.



¶ 13 In rebuttal, Assistant State's Attorney Heather Kent stated, "Musaab Afandi is a serial rapist. It is who he is. It is what he does. He rapes women. He preys on women. He targets women. And then he becomes their worst nightmare." And, "He came to this country to rape women. He came to this country for you and for the judge and then he took that oath and he desecrated it."

¶ 14 The jury convicted Afandi on four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and one count of aggravated kidnapping. The trial court sentenced Afandi to 45 years in prison.





Reversed