Source: Office of United States Attorneys
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Nasouh Albasis-Albasis, 27, of West Valley, Utah, was sentenced to 110 months’ imprisonment and a life term of supervised release after he and one of his co-defendants sexually assaulted a 14-year-old victim in the back of a vehicle, which was recorded and shared on social media in 2017.
The sentence, imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell, comes after Albasis-Albasis pleaded guilty on January 23, 2025, to charges involving child sexual abuse material. His co-defendants, Dodjim Leclaire, 32, of Murray, Utah, and his brother Richard Djasserambaye, 29, of Central Republic of Africa, living in Murray, Utah, at the time of the assault, were also sentenced. Leclaire was sentenced to 208 months’ imprisonment and Djasserambaye was sentenced to 181 months’ imprisonment. Both defendants were sentenced to a life term of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made at Albasis-Albasis’ change of plea and sentencing hearings, on September 9, 2017, Albasis-Albasis and his co-defendants Djasserambaye, and Leclaire used the 14-year-old victim to produce sexually explicit images. Specifically, Albasis-Albasis and Leclaire sexually assaulted the severely intoxicated and physically incapacitated minor while Djasserambaye video recorded the violent assaults. Djasserambaye then posted the video on social media. Albasis-Albasis further admitted he had video of the assaults of the victim on his cell phone.
The case was investigated jointly by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, West Jordan City Police Department, Salt Lake City Police Department, Sandy City Police Department and Syracuse City Police Department.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.