An Afghan refugee was arrested last weekend for allegedly raping a girl he met at a bar in Missoula, Montana.
Zabihullah Mohmand, who is 19 years old, is in Montana as part of the Afghan Placement and Assistance Program, according to NBC Montana. This program is part of the federal government’s refugee resettlement program.
Jon Ebelt, who works with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (MDPHHS), told NBC Montana by email that as of October 21 there were 20 Afghanistan refugees in “Montana (Missoula) as part of the Afghan Placement and Assistance Program.” Ebelt said these individuals have been in Missoula “since late September.”
MDPHHS handles the state’s refugee program; however, Ebelt told NBC Montana that the federal government handles the vetting process.
Mohmand is facing a felony charge of having sexual intercourse without consent with an 18-year-old girl, according to the affidavit filed this week.
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On October 17 at 4:30 a.m., the Missoula Police Department (MPD) responded to a call from Jane Doe who said she had been raped by someone at a hotel in downtown Missoula, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said when the alleged survivor talked to MPD, Doe said she met Mohmand at a downtown Missoula bar. Doe said she and another friend left with Mohmand and two other males to go look for a house party. However, the house party was no longer going on when they arrived.
According to a search warrant filed Friday, Mohmand and another person name Jerrod Seaur asked Doe to go back to their hotel room. She originally contemplated going back home, but instead decided to go back to Mohmand’s hotel room.
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Doe said she told Mohmand that she didn’t want to do any sexual activities and just wanted to sleep.
However, Doe said that did not happen because as she tried to sleep Mohmand got naked and went into the bed, according to the search warrant.
“I just couldn’t get him off of me,” Doe told police officers, according to the affidavit. “I had to have sex with one of them, what was I suppose to do.”
According to the search warrant, Doe said Seuar laid in the bed next to them and allegedly watched Mohmand rape her. In the affidavit, Seuar denied in an interview with police that this happened and said he was in the “living room” on his laptop with headphones on while Mohmand and Doe were in the bedroom.
Doe said she tried to fight back, but Mohmand allegedly held her down to the bed by placing his hand around her neck, according to the affidavit.
Also, the affidavit said Doe had significant bruising and red marks on the side of her neck. Doe said Mohmand was kissing her neck, but she doesn’t usually get hickies.
One of the detectives who examined Doe noticed that she had a “slight petechiae in her eye,” which is an indication of strangulation, according to the search warrant.
After Mohmand finished ejaculating, Doe tried to leave, but Mohmand allegedly wouldn’t let her, according to the search warrant.
Doe said she finally left the room after Mohmand went to another room in his hotel room. As she left Doe said she forgot a bra and pair of socks.
According to the affidavit, fifteen minutes before police responded to the call at 4:30 a.m., staff at the Residence Inn at Marriot saw a young female “visibly upset and crying” and asked if she needed help, but she did not respond.
After Doe went outside the hotel, Mohmand followed her outside. A hotel worker called hotel security after the person thought a “verbal disturbance” was occurring when Mohmand went outside to talk to the girl, the affidavit says.
When police asked Mohmand about the encounter with Doe, he told them that the sexual encounter was “consensual,” according to the affidavit. He said that Doe and he kissed and performed oral sex on each other. Mohmand added that Doe “liked what he was doing” and “asked him to do it,” according to the affidavit.
Mohmand described Doe as “very drunk.” Doe did tell police she had been drinking, but neither the affidavit nor search warrant describes Doe as being drunk.
The Afghan refugee also admitted to police that there were marks on Doe’s neck but they were from kissing her. He said Doe “wanted him very badly and was coming on to him,” the affidavit says.
Mohmand also said that his roommate asked Doe to leave after they were done having sex.
The 19-year old denied any things were left in his hotel room after Doe left, but when police examined his hotel room Doe’s bra and pair of socks were retrieved, according to the affidavit.
Mohmand told MPD he was visiting Missoula on a “world-wide trip.”
From the affidavit and search warrant, the role of Seuar is unclear. In the search warrant, it says Seuar was out at the bars and met Doe with Mohmand. However, in the affidavit, a person identified as (J.S), which are Seuar’s initials, told police that he stayed in their hotel room while Mohmand went out to the bars.
Mohmand’s arraignment is scheduled for November 1.
As news of this alleged incident made its way around Montana, prominent politicians spoke on the topic.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said Thursday that Mohmand did not have Special Immigrant Visa status.
Gianforte also asked the Biden administration to stop sending refugees to Montana.
“I called on the Biden administration to assure us that these refugees are fully vetted. It’s not clear to us what occurred in this situation, so we are asking the Biden administration to halt the placement of refugees here until they can assure us that the people that are being placed — our allies have been fully vetted,” Gianforte said during a press conference Thursday.
Despite this statement, Gianforte also said Thursday that he supports “providing a home” for Afghan allies that had been fully vetted.
On Friday, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) sent a letter to Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wanting thorough information on how Mohmand came to America.
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Montana’s Democratic Senator Jon Tester this week said the situation is “deeply disturbing,” and he said Afghan refugees “must be fully vetted,” according to NBC Montana.
Mohmand is not the only reported alleged incident of an Afghan refugee treating women badly. In Wisconsin at Fort McCoy where Afghan refugees are living at so many reports of domestic abuse have occurred that “gender and protection advisors” have been called to the base to help settle disputes.
CBS News reported this week that the U.S. has been placing thousands of refugees in communities across the country.
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Zachery Schmidt is the Digital Editor of Star News Digital Media. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected]. Follow Zachery on Twitter @zacheryschmidt2.
