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Jury deadlocks in sex assault case

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By CLARENCE MABIN / Lincoln Journal Star

Monday, Nov 06, 2006 - 11:36:22 pm CST

Lancaster County District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront declared a mistrial Monday after a jury deadlocked in the case of 33-year-old man accused of raping a woman he met at a Lincoln bar.

The jury of 7 women and 5 men began deliberations Thursday afternoon and told the judge Monday morning they were unable to agree on a verdict .

Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon, one of two prosecutors in the case, said his office had not yet decided whether to re-try the defendant, Pamir Safi of Lincoln.

Clarence Mock, Safi’s attorney, expressed disappointment in the trial’s outcome. He said the state’s case was “full of holes.”

“We continue to believe that he’s innocent,” he said.

According to court records and trial testimony, Safi met Tory Bowen, then 21, at a downtown Lincoln bar Oct. 30, 2004. They had drinks together and later left in  Safi’s vehicle for his apartment, according to trial testimony.

Safi has said that he and Bowen had consensual sex at his apartment. But Bowen, in a statement to police at Bryan LGH Medical Center East the following morning, told police she had been sexually assaulted.

Bowen said she remembered drinking at the bar but could next only remember waking up naked in a bed with an unknown man.

Safi, who is in the U.S. Army, was later charged with first-degree sexual assault. The trial began Oct. 23.

Key evidence included testimony from two other women who said they had been sexually assaulted by Safi. However, neither of those cases resulted in a conviction.

In one, involving a Kansas City woman, prosecutors did not file a charge, Mock said. In the other, involving a woman stationed at an military base in Kansas, a military court eventually dismissed the case, Mock said.

Bowen of Washington, D.C., said in an interview Monday she was stunned the jury did not convict Safi.

“I’m in sheer disbelief,” said Bowen, who testified at the trial. “Three times he’s done this and he’s not been found guilty.”

Safi, through Mock, declined comment.

Reach Clarence Mabin at cmabin@journalstar.com or 473-7234.


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Cecil wrote on November 7, 2006 10:06 am:
" sounds like a classic case of date rape drugs being used, was there a tox-screen done on the girl after she went to the police "
watch your drinks ladies! wrote on November 7, 2006 11:37 am:
" I always hold on to my drink at the bars. And I would never go with someone I just met to their apartment! "
wondering wrote on November 7, 2006 11:44 am:
" There is surely more to this case then is in this article. Otherwise a jury would have decided in either her or his favor. "
figures wrote on November 7, 2006 12:17 pm:
" It's always the womans fault right. Either by our clothes or by the way walk or talk. Get real people As Cecil asks was a tox screen done? "
Kyle wrote on November 7, 2006 2:08 pm:
" If you were a juror, how would you rule in a "he said-she couldn't remember" scenario? Without any other corroborating evidence, it's really hard to say that a rape occurred beyond a reasonable doubt. I would think the law would obligate you to acquit, wouldn't it? That aside, where were this woman's friends and why weren't they looking out for her? "
Facts wrote on November 7, 2006 2:29 pm:
" I tried to post more of the facts for the readers but they did not allow it. The fact is, everyone needs to be safe.....male and females!!!!! "
Jim wrote on November 7, 2006 5:22 pm:
" This is clearly a lopsided article written in favor of the accuser. I am sure there is way more to the story than what was in the article, as the juries may have seen it in this case and were not convinced to accuse him. "
Amber wrote on November 7, 2006 5:28 pm:
" This is the reason women need to go out in groups. If you get to drunk to know better one designated person can make sure you all stay together. Just be glad you are alive. Never ever leave with someone you just met! "
Jim wrote on November 7, 2006 5:30 pm:
" I am sure there were lots of tests done; why not any one who’s handling this case would not have done it, if the accuser was being all honest. If there were any drugs involved as stated by figures and Cecil, test results would have showed it, and brought up by the prosecutors in the trial. "
Sick wrote on November 7, 2006 8:18 pm:
" People like some of you that have posted comments here make me sick. You have 3 women all of whom are from different walks of life and different areas of the country all saying the same thing about the same guy. These women did not know one another and did not conspire with one another. So I guess this poor guy is just the unluckiest guy in the world. Get a freaking clue people! The jurors that did not have the intellegence to say guilty are very sad to me. Look at the numbers, one out of four women or children are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Good luck to the people that are to blind to see the truth. The women that had to be put through not only the act but also the terrible experience of reliving the whole thing in front of other people including the person who did have more guts then 99.9% of the world! Open your freaking eyes! "
This is a sad fact wrote on November 7, 2006 10:00 pm:
" This is the reason so many rapes are not reported. Why report it if it only takes one idiot on the jury prevent a conviction. "
Protected wrote on November 7, 2006 10:36 pm:
" Justice is to protect the innocent. After listening to all of the testimony and examining all of the evidence and very carefully following all of the courts orders twelve people couldn't agree, either way. I'm glad our justice system isn't based on a website comment board. "

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