KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A former Knox County martial arts instructor who fled the country after being accused in the 1990s of raping an 11-year-old student was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison.
John Shafighi, 67, also known as Jahangir Shaffighi, had been convicted by a Knox County jury in November of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery.
Knox County Criminal Court Judge Scott Green imposed a sentence.
Authorities said Shafighi repeatedly sexually abused a young girl in the early 1990s. He was alleged to have put his penis in her mouth while she was blindfolded. Shafighi operated a martial arts school at the time that the girl attended.
A Knox County grand jury indicted him in 1994, but Shafighi fled to the Middle East. He remained outside the United States for more than 20 years, eventually settling in Canada. He was finally detained in 2016 by federal authorities at the Atlanta airport.
Shafighi was born in Iran and eventually moved to the United States to attend the University of Houston, records state. He became a U.S. citizen in the 1980s, according to records.
Gregory P. Isaacs, his attorney, told Green he was an upstanding businessman with a history of success and a strong network of family support.
Prosecutor Nate Ogle told Green that Shafighi had abused his position of trust and should spend as much time in prison as the law would allow.
The victim testified at the November trial. She prepared a statement for sentencing in which she said Shafighi's crimes had resulted in her getting years of counseling and group therapy.
"I was deeply psychologically and mentally injured as a result of the incident," she told the state. "My innocence as a 11-year-old girl was taken by a man I trusted and respected."
