A district judge sent a 26-year-old Lincoln man to prison Thursday for sexually assaulting a fellow college student in his car in 2016.
"You were told no by the victim in this case, and yet you persisted in your behavior," Lancaster County District Judge Lori Maret told Sami Mrza before giving him eight to 15 years in prison for first-degree sexual assault.
"You did not respect her assertions of no, and you crossed the line in a number of ways for which the jury found you guilty," the judge said.
Mrza is from Iraq and had been in the U.S. for just two years before it happened and is likely to be deported after serving his sentence.
Mrza chose not to speak; and his attorney made his sentencing arguments in a private letter to the judge rather than in court.
On the other side, Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Charlie Byrd acknowledged Mrza didn't have a lengthy criminal record before this, as frequently is true of sex offenders who tend to hide their crimes.
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But, he asked the judge to take into consideration that Mrza has failed to take any responsibility for his crime or show any remorse for it or any empathy for the victim.
At trial, the now 20-year-old woman said she got in Mrza's car early Nov. 13, 2016, believing they were going to go cruise O Street after they ate.
She knew Mrza from a nursing class at Southeast Community College. But when they got in his car, she said, he started hugging and kissing her and wouldn't let go.
She said she asked him to stop, but he pushed her head down to perform a sex act on him, saying they weren't doing anything wrong.
She ultimately got out and ran to her car. She drove around, then called a friend and her mom, then called police.
In texts, Mrza told her he was sorry and asked her not to be mad.
Mrza said what happened was consensual, and told an officer in a recorded interview that when she told him to stop he did stop, just not right away.
Defense attorney Sandy Pollack said he will appeal and asked Maret to allow Mrza to post a bond and be released while that happens, a move the judge denied.