Men Sentenced to Prison for Kidnapping and Sexual Assault in Boystown
Two men who kidnapped a woman from a popular Boystown bar and sexually assaulted her at a North Side apartment were sentenced to more than a decade in prison on Friday, court records reveal.
Sarwar Khan, aged 48, received a 15-year sentence, while Quribullah Mohammad, aged 24, received an 11-year sentence after both pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual assault causing bodily harm before Judge Domenica Stephenson handed down the sentences. They are required to serve 85% of their sentences and register as sex offenders.
The incident took place on a night in late June 2023 when the victim, a 22-year-old woman who had recently moved to Chicago, went out for drinks with coworkers and ended up at a well-known gay bar in the 3300 block of North Halsted Street, according to prosecutors and court records.
According to prosecutors, Khan and Mohammad entered the bar shortly after midnight. Khan offered to buy the woman a drink while she was waiting in line for the restroom, even though she initially declined. Feeling extremely intoxicated upon leaving the restroom, the woman expressed her desire to go home, but Khan insisted she go with him. Mohammad then joined them, and both men forced her into a car.
City and private surveillance footage later confirmed the men forcing the woman into a Toyota Prius owned by Mohammad. As Mohammad drove to Khan’s residence on North Washtenaw Avenue, Khan sexually assaulted the woman in the back seat.
Upon arrival, the woman was unable to walk, so Mohammad carried her to the second floor where both men proceeded to assault her in Khan’s bedroom. The woman managed to call 911 around 2 a.m., but Khan intervened and prevented her from seeking help. Mohammad fled the scene and hid the woman’s wallet before the police arrived. The woman was eventually taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries consistent with sexual assault.
During the initial court hearing, Khan’s defense attorney mentioned that he had been living in the United States for over a decade after immigrating from Afghanistan and had been supporting his wife and 13 children back home by working at a parcel company in Chicago. Mohammad’s defense attorney stated that he arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2021 and had been living in Chicago since 2022, working as a food delivery driver.
The sentencing of Khan and Mohammad serves as a reminder of the importance of holding perpetrators of sexual assault accountable and providing justice for survivors.
