An Oregon man found guilty of kidnapping and sexual assault forced his captive to create a blackmail video pretending she enjoyed being raped, prosecutors said.
"He made her fears come true," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan J. Lichvarcik told the court Friday during closing arguments of the eight-day trial for Negasi Zuberi, according to The Oregonian.
"He's preying on people he thinks are weak, preying on people he thinks are vulnerable, and he misjudged big time," he added.
Zuberi, 30, also known as Justin Joshua Hyche, kidnapped two 21-year-old female victims within a six-week span and sexually assaulted them beginning in May 2023, prosecutors said.
The first victim testified she met Zuberi after leaving a Klamath Falls, Oregon bar, and couldn't remember how she ended up in his SUV. He drove her to a rural area, attacked her with a Taser, handcuffed her, and drove her to his home where he repeatedly raped her in the back seat of his vehicle parked in his garage, according to the paper.
In the midst of raping her, Zuberi forced the victim to make a video of them having sex for "insurance" purposes, in an effort to "silence" her and prevent her from reporting the assault, said prosecutors.
The victim was held captive for 13 hours until Zuberi agreed to free her so she could take care of her sick dog – a story she said she made up out of desperation.
She reported the assault three days later.
In July, Zuberi struck again – this time, in Seattle, where he posed as a cop and picked up a sex worker. He Tased her, handcuffed her, and sexually assaulted her on the 450-mile drive back to his home, where he held her captive in a makeshift cinder block cell erected in his garage, according to prosecutors.
She managed to break free and flag down a passing motorist who called 911.
Zuberi fled and was tracked down to a Walmart parking lot in Reno, Nevada, where he was arrested following a brief standoff, witnessed by wife and two kids, who were in his SUV with him. He surrendered while holding one of his young sons.
Zuberi faces up to life in prison for kidnapping and will be sentenced Jan. 16.
He still faces a charge of attempted escape when he allegedly tried to break out of jail in August.
