Defendant Convicted of Abusing Child after Fleeing to Iran for Twenty-Two Years

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Child Abuse Unit obtained convictions against a defendant who sexually abused a child then fled the country for over two decades. Jahangir Shaffighi, 62, was convicted of Aggravated Rape and Aggravated Sexual Battery. Judge Scott Green ordered Shaffighi into custody and set the case for sentencing on December 16.

In a three-day trial, Assistant District Attorneys Nate Ogle and Joanie Stewart explained to the jury that in 1992, Shaffighi was a taekwondo instructor, and the victim was one of his students. For eight months, when the victim was ten and eleven years old, Shaffighi sexually assaulted the child. The victim disclosed the abuse three months after stopping the taekwondo classes. Knoxville Police Department Investigator Ron Humphrey arrested Shaffighi in 1994. Shaffighi made bond and fled to Iran. He remained on the run until 2016, when he was apprehended by the United States Marshals Service.

“The verdict in this case was long overdue, but we never stopped pursuing justice on behalf of this victim,” said DA Charme Allen.

Shaffighi will be sentenced under Tennessee law as it stood in 1992, prior to the enactment of the Rape of a Child statute. As such, he is facing between fifteen and twenty-five years in prison for the Aggravated Rape count and eight to twelve years on the Aggravated Sexual Battery count.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.