Press Release

Anchorage Taxi Driver Man Convicted for 2014 Sexual Assault

February 28, 2017

(Anchorage, AK) – Today, an Anchorage jury found 31 year old Asad Nur guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in Anchorage in 2014. Following five days of testimony, the jury found Nur guilty of one count of sexual assault in the first degree and one count of assault in the second degree.

The testimony at trial revealed that Nur was a taxi driver who picked up a woman at a bar in September 2014. The woman was seeking a taxi ride to another bar but Nur instead took her to his apartment with the promise that he would provide her with alcoholic beverages. Once inside the apartment, Nur dragged the woman to his room, strangled her with one hand and sexually assaulted her. Nur then let go of her neck, told her he would call her another taxi, and told her not to tell anyone what happened. The woman called 911 shortly after the incident but was not initially able to identify the defendant.

Detective Jade Baker continued to investigate the incident and submitted a request to the Alaska State Crime Detection Laboratory for DNA analysis. In February 2016, Det. Baker received a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) report which indicated that Nur’s DNA profile had been identified from the victim’s sexual assault kit. The CODIS database is administered in Alaska by the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory. The CODIS database is a collection of DNA profiles collected from persons arrested or convicted of offenses specified by Alaska Statutes.

Superior Court Judge Kevin Saxby scheduled sentencing for June 23, 2017. Nur faces a sentence range of 20 to 99 years in prison as a result of his convictions. Nur is in the custody of the Department of Corrections and will remain there until his sentencing.

CONTACT: Assistant District Attorney Gustaf Olson at (907) 269-6300 or gustaf.olson@alaska.gov.

More information about the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office is available at http://www.law.alaska.gov/department/criminal/adao.html.

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.