Man admits taping sex acts with 12-year-old

A 41-year-old pizza cook charged with multiple sexual assaults on children freely admitted to a District Court jury Thursday that he videotaped some of the acts.

Shafiq Afzali visibly shocked those in the courtroom when he tried to justify sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl by saying he was trying to protect her from other men. Afzali said he believed the victim was sexually aggressive. At that assertion, one man in the courtroom covered his face with his jacket.

Afzali was on the stand for almost an hour and gave multiple reasons for his actions and for making the tape, which is now evidence against him.

Veteran prosecutors said that Afzali's case eclipses that of Chester Stiles, the 38-year-old man convicted earlier this month of videotaping himself sexually assaulting a 2-year-old girl. A veteran prosecutor called the Afzali case one of the most vile ever, in part because of the brutality captured on video.

One reason Afzali gave for making the tape was that he wanted to scare the 12-year-old girl so she wouldn't come around his apartment anymore.

Afzali claimed that the family of the 12-year-old victim consented to the sexual relationship. He also said he dated the 12-year-old girl's mother.

Afzali faces 63 charges that include sexually assaulting a victim under 14, lewdness with a minor, first-degree kidnapping, and use of a minor in pornography. In addition to the 12-year-old, a brother and sister, then ages 7 and 9 respectively, were sexually assaulted by Afzali, authorities said. The assaults he is charged with are believed to have taken place between 2004 and 2007.

Police learned about the allegations of sexual assault after the siblings reported it to others. A copy of Afzali's videotape also was anonymously left at a Las Vegas police station.

The case is being prosecuted by chief deputy district attorneys Thomas Moreo and Vicki Monroe. Earlier this week, jurors watched a graphic, 35-minute video that sources familiar with the case said showed Afzali assaulting the 12-year-old girl at his apartment. Several people familiar with the video said the girl is heard crying and begging Afzali to stop.

When Afzali's attorneys, deputy public defenders Lauren Diefenbach and Stacey Roundtree, started to play a short segment of the tape Thursday, District Judge James Bixler asked in an exasperated tone, "Are you going to play that again?"

The victims lived in the same Las Vegas apartment complex as Afzali, near Valley View Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, authorities said.

Originally from Afghanistan, Afzali worked as a pizza cook for about 19 years. He declined to wear civilian clothes during the trial, which began Monday, and instead appeared in court in his navy blue prison jumper.

Afzali at times veered off topic as he testified. He told the jury that he once protected a girl who was crying in the street near his apartment on a cold Halloween night in Las Vegas. He also described himself as an extremely generous person who gave money to the family of the 12-year-old girl he is accused of assaulting on videotape.

He said hospitality is very important in Afghani culture and his "door was open to anybody." This included neighborhood children who would play at his apartment, he said.

If convicted, Afzali could be sentenced to life in prison. His trial is expected to resume today.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.