A man found guilty Tuesday of sexual battery upon a child multiple times and impregnating her was sentenced to Life in prison Wednesday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Nadir Al Bashir, 49, of Panama City, was found guilty of 3 counts of Sexual Battery Upon a child 12 years of age or older. A jury took 11 minutes to find him guilty of sexually battering the 12-year-old victim both before and after he impregnated her. Circuit Judge Brantley Clark sentenced him to three consecutive life sentences.

Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Lieb presented witnesses and evidence from the victim’s family, the Panama City Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. FDLE analyst Jennifer Wilkerson testified that DNA samples from the defendant, the victim, and the baby showed a 99.99% likelihood that the was the father.

During the cross-examination of the defendant, Lieb asked him if he had had sex with the victim when she was 12 years old.  The defendant admitted he had but said he believed it was legal after he researched the law.  “So, you decided to have sex with a 12-year-old child. Based on your research you decided to have sex with a 12-year-old child multiple times?” Lieb asked the defendant.  The defendant replied that “Y’all don’t get it.”

“The State has called witnesses, including the victim, who have testified about what this defendant did to this child,” Lieb told jurors in her closing argument. “But there’s no doubting that it happened thanks to the DNA because the FDLE was able to show that half the child’s DNA profile comes from the defendant. This man forced her into a situation that no 12- or 13-year-old is prepared for, becoming pregnant and having a child to care for.”

“We believe life is the appropriate sentence in this case based on the nature of these crimes and the defendant’s own testimony.”  Lieb stated at sentencing.  “This defendant will always be a danger to the children in our community. He doesn’t believe the law applies to him and he doesn’t think he has done anything wrong, he has shown no remorse.”

The defendant told the judge, when speaking about the crime, that he “didn’t force nobody to do that” and that it was just something that happened and that he is not a danger to children.

The victim also spoke to Judge Clark at sentencing.

“It has affected me every day of my life since I was a child,” the victim said in a soft voice, adding it has negatively affected her relationships with others, caused pain in her family, and led her to being homeless and without her child for a period of time.

After sentencing the victim said it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her and that she could finally breathe.

Basford thanked the Panama City Police Department and assisting agencies for their work on the case.

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.