Press Release

Anchorage Taxi Driver Sentenced to 25 Years for 2014 Sexual Assault

July 20, 2017

Today, 31 year old Asad Nur of Anchorage was sentenced to spend the next twenty-five years in prison for a sexual assault he committed in 2014. In February 2017, an Anchorage jury found Nur guilty of sexual assault in the first degree, an unclassified felony offense and assault in the second degree, a class B felony offense.

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.

In February 2016, the State Crime Detection Laboratory sent a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) report to the Anchorage Police Department 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 presided over the trial in February 2017 and over today’s sentencing hearing. Judge Saxby describe Nur’s conduct in this case as predatory and found that Nur exploited a particularly vulnerable victim. He also found that Nur had a history of assaulting vulnerable victims. Judge Saxby found that Nur prospects of rehabilitation were guarded because of his denial of conduct, his denial of the DNA evidence, and lack of remorse. Judge Saxby suspended an additional five years of jail time and placed Nur on probation for 15 years. Nur will have to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

CONTACT: District Attorney Clint Campion at (907) 842-2482 or clinton.campion@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.