Anwar Shakir was a role model to his step-daughter.
He was the person she turned to when she needed to talk. He taught her right from wrong.
Yet for three years Shakir sexually assaulted her in the Derby home they shared with the girl’s mother and younger brother.
The girl — now a strong, well-spoken 14-year-old — told a story of trust betrayed to Judge Maureen Keegan and several supporters at Shakir’s sentencing at Superior Court in Milford Monday.
“I feared nothing if I had him by my side,” said the girl, whose name is being withheld by the Valley Indy.
“What Anwar did to me was a disgrace to me and my family,” the girl said. “If I knew what he did to me was wrong, I would have told, because he taught me to always tell the truth.”
Shakir, 36, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison, suspended after he serves 15, for the charge of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of risk of injury to a minor.
Police said in the summer of 2008, Shakir woke up his then 11-year-old step-daughter and sexually assaulted her while pornography played on a television in the room of their Derby residence.
The girl said he started inappropriately touching her three years earlier, when she was 8.
Shakir denied the allegations but was found guilty after a trial earlier this year.
In brief comments during the sentencing, Shakir did not apologize.
He told the court he was innocent.
“I’m not going to argue with what the jury found. The decision was made,” Shakir said. “I’m going to respect the decision and I’ll take the punishment that you offer. And that’s pretty much it.”
Shakir sat down, but quickly stood back up again.
“One more thing. I did plead not guilty,” Shakir said. “And I maintain my innocence.”
‘Low Man On The Totem Pole’
But Judge Keegan said the eight-member jury believed the young girl. And so did Keegan.
“Quite honestly, there is no more despised crime in society than sexual assault of a child,” Judge Keegan said, holding up a fifth-grade school photograph of the step-daughter. “That’s a little girl who loved you, who trusted you, and you violated that trust.”
“You will be the low man on the totem pole when you go to jail,” Judge Keegan said. “You will be the low man on the totem pole in society.”
Forgiveness
The victim and her mother, Star, both spoke during the sentencing. The Valley Indy is only publishing the mother’s first name.
Star spoke of her long relationship with Shakir, and how he “was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“We were a family. My love was real,” Star said. “We adored him. But he chose to touch my child.”
“After everything he has done to us, I still teach my children to pray for him and forgive him,” Star said.
She said she gained strength through the ordeal from her daughter.
“She’s not just a victim. She’s a warrior because she stood up and fought for what was right,” Star said.
Senior Assistant States Attorney Charles Stango said he was proud of the girl for having the courage to come forward and to tell her story to a jury of eight strangers.
“I couldn’t be more proud of that young lady,” he said in an interview after the sentencing. “Now the most important thing is having the victim recover emotionally. And that will take a long time.”
Star said the family has moved to North Carolina, where she works with abused women and children at a crisis center.
“Now we can begin to heal,” Star said. “It was shown that my daughter is so strong. When I felt weak because it was so hard, that’s where I got my strength.”
As part of Shakir’s sentence, he will have to register as a sex offender, and won’t be allowed to live with any minors, even his own children.
He will also be prohibited from contacting the victim.
No one came to speak on Shakir’s behalf during the sentencing, other than his attorney, John R. Gulash.
His lawyer said Shakir’s supporters were unable to attend because of work obligations.
