Clarion Man Gets Up to 36 Years for Raping Young Girl

Scott Shindledecker

Scott Shindledecker

Published February 8, 2018 1:48 am
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CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — A Clarion man found guilty of raping a young girl at a borough residence in 2015 received a lengthy prison sentence on Wednesday morning in the Clarion County Court of Common Pleas.

In October, a jury of seven women and five men found 70-year-old Bassam Kamel Yakteen guilty of 41 counts that included 40 felonies. The charges include child rape, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault of a child less than 13 years of age, sexual assault, terroristic threats, as well as conspiracy.

President Judge James Arner delivered a sentence to Yakteen of a minimum of 18 years and a maximum of 36 years for the crimes he committed against an 11-year-old girl at a Clarion residence in November 2015.

Judge Arner also ordered that Yakteen have no contact with the victim or her siblings.

Yakteen was taken back to the Clarion County Jail and will be transported to the State Correctional Institution in Waynesburg, Greene County.

Clarion County Assistant District Attorney Drew Welsh argued in his sentencing memorandum that Yakteen receive more than 100 years for his crimes.

“Bassam Yakteen committed horrendous and abhorrent crimes,” Welsh said. “Mr. Yakteen, who at the time of these crimes was 69 years old, repeatedly raped an 11-year-old child. He did not do this alone. He conspired with the child’s mother to make her available for him in exchange for items as meager as cigarettes and pizza.”

“The child’s mother admitted her role, pleaded guilty, and testified against Mr. Yakteen at trial,” Welsh said.

“What Mr. Yakteen did was unforgivable. Mr. Yakteen’s actions make this case particularly disturbing. The conspiracy with the child’s mother is loathsome. The knowledge that this child had previously been the victim of sexual assault by a family member makes his actions even more deplorable.”

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Clarion Police Chief William H. Peck, IV, was pleased with the sentence and hopeful for the victim.

“I hope she can move forward in her life,” Peck said. “She won’t have to worry about him (Yakteen) again.”

“As police, we are very appreciative of ADA Welsh for the effort he puts into these types of cases. These are not easy cases. Trying to get the victims to talk can be very difficult, and it takes a skilled and caring approach to bring these cases to a successful conclusion.”

Robbie Taylor, Yakteen’s court-appointed attorney, said his client realized the seriousness of the crimes, and the attorney asked for a normal range in sentencing.

Case details:

According to a previously-published article on exploreClarion.com, Clarion Borough Police Chief William H. Peck, IV filed numerous felony charges against Yakteen and Stephanie Andreas in December of 2016.

A criminal complaint was filed at District Judge Duane Quinn’s office following an investigation which began after Clarion Borough Police received a Children & Youth Services (CYS) report involving the sexual assault of an underage girl.

Victim Interviewed

The victim told a caseworker that she was sexually assaulted by Yakteen multiple times at a residence in Clarion. She stated that Andreas forced her to have sex with Yakteen.

Andreas told the victim that she would give her money if she obeyed and had sex with Yakteen. Andreas “watched the victim having sex with Yakteen,” according to the criminal complaint.

On December 8, 2016, Peck attended a forensic interview with the victim at Western PA CARES for Kids.

During the forensic interview, the victim described Yakteen as “jolly” and “drunk.” She said that Yakteen took her into a bedroom and had sex with her. Once inside the bedroom, Yakteen “told the victim that he would kill her if she didn’t have sex with him,” the complaint states.

The victim then said that Yakteen had sex with her the next day and again threatened to kill her if she did not comply. She told the interviewer that Yakteen had sex with her approximately five times that week, according to the criminal complaint.

Andreas Interviewed

December 13, 2016, Chief Peck spoke with Andreas at the Clarion County Jail where she was lodged on unrelated charges. Andreas told him that she met Yakteen at a church dinner in August of 2015. She said that approximately two weeks later he began providing her with food, money, and cigarettes. Yakteen and Andreas eventually formed a romantic relationship, according to the criminal complaint.

Andreas admitted to observing Yakteen having sexual intercourse with the victim twice and said that the abuse occurred multiple times between November of 2015 and February of 2016. Andreas told Chief Peck that Yakteen admitted to having an obsession with young girls.

Andreas stated that the abuse ended in February of 2016 when she stopped allowing Yakteen to visit the residence.

Andreas told Peck that she “made a deal” with Yakteen in which he would pay her bills and provide money, cigarettes, and food in exchange for her silence about the abuse.

Andreas was sentenced to 12 to 24 years in state prison Wednesday, November 1, 2017.

Yakteen Interviewed

Around 9:50 a.m. on Thursday, December 14, 2016, Chief Peck located Yakteen on Main Street in Clarion. Yakteen agreed to go to the Clarion Borough Police Department to be interviewed about the sexual abuse, according to the complaint.

Yakteen confirmed that he met Andreas in August of 2015 and later began to form a romantic relationship with her.

Yakteen told Chief Peck that he provided Andreas with food and money and paid her bills.

Yakteen also told Chief Peck that when Andreas “gets out of the jail,” they are going to move in together and get married.

Yakteen admitted to going into the bedroom with the child but denied sexually abusing her, according to the complaint.

Trial details: Clarion Man Found Guilty of Raping Young Girl

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