A man who attacked a Muslim state representative outside a prayer service in Connecticut, United States, has been sentenced to five years in prison for attempted sexual assault and other crimes, a punishment the lawmaker said is too lenient.
Andrey Desmond (31) was sentenced in Hartford Superior Court in connection with the June, 2023, assault on Rep Maryam Khan, the first Muslim to serve in the state’s House of Representatives.
Desmond pleaded guilty in April, to attempted third degree sexual assault, attempted first degree strangulation and risk of injury to a minor; all felonies.
After the prison term, Desmond must serve parole, register as a sex offender and receive mental health treatment.
Desmond’s public defender, John Stawicki, said in court that Desmond regretted his actions and had struggled with mental illness, including schizophrenia.
Culled from Religion News Service
Desmond said the “events that happened were out of my control. I didn’t have any self-control.”
Khan, a Democrat from the Hartford suburb of Windsor, said in a statement that the assault “highlighted serious gaps in our mental healthcare system and victims’ safety and protection.”
She was attacked after attending a service at the XL Centre in Hartford with her family to mark the Eid al-Adha – the end of hajj, the annual pilgrimage by Muslims to Mecca.
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