Man accused of kidnapping, raping women, keeping them as ‘sex slaves’ faces trial in Oregon as jury gets first look at makeshift ‘prison’ door

A 12-member jury and four alternates will be shown mounting evidence against Zuberi, including more than 450 exhibits and more than 50 prosecution witnesses. Prosecutors have accused Zuberi of using "power, control, and sexual domination" to abduct and keep his victims at his Klamath Falls home, a plot the accused dubbed "Operation Takeover."

The three-week trial kicked off on Tuesday at the James A. Redden US Courthouse in downtown Medford, Oregon. Assistant US Attorney Nathan J. Lichvarcik is prosecuting the federal case. Negasi Zuberi has retained defense lawyer Amy E. Potter.

Zuberi has been charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of being a felon in possession of guns and ammunition, two counts of being a felon with ammunition, and one count of transportation for criminal sexual activity. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has maintained that the sexual intercourse was consensual.

Negasi Zuberi jail booking photo. Credit: US District Attorney's Office

On July 15, 2023, Zuberi allegedly posed as a police officer in Seattle before pointing a taser at a commercial sex worker, placing her in handcuffs and leg irons, and forcing her into the backseat of his vehicle. He then transported the woman roughly 450 miles back to his home in Klamath Falls. The victim, 21 years old at the time, was reportedly raped and ordered to perform oral sex on him along the way, court documents show.

Upon arrival at his home, Zuberi took the woman out of his car and placed her into a makeshift cinderblock jail cell he had built in his garage. The petite 120-pound woman bit off the tips of her fingernails, pounded on the cell door until it cracked open, and then managed to escape by shoving her body through a small crevice the next morning, prosecutors said.

The bloodied victim retrieved a handgun from Zuberi's white Honda Pilot, fled from his garage, scaled a fence outside of his home, and flagged down motorists yelling, "He raped me!" The motorist reported the incident to 911.

Evidence photos of Zuberi's 'prison cell.' Credit: US District Attorney's Office

Zuberi was arrested on July 16, 2023, in a Walmart parking lot in Reno, Nevada after being located by two Nevada State Police officers. He was taken into custody by law enforcement after a brief standoff.

Jail records show Zuberi's criminal charges

Attorney Lichvarcik showed jurors evidence containing handcuffs, leg irons, a taser, and cellphone jammers Zuberi reportedly used to abduct the woman. These items were located by investigators in Zuberi's home, vehicle, and trailer he owned. The black metal door from his garage prison cell, photos from the cell, and receipts for cinder blocks he purchased from Home Depot will also be presented to the court as evidence, the prosecutor said, as per the Oregonian.

Defense attorney Potter argued to the jury that Zuberi has not been charged by the government with rape. She claimed the Washington woman voluntarily entered his vehicle and later fell asleep in the structure in his garage, which prosecutors called a prison cell.

"The government called it a cell, but it's simply a cinder block structure for music or extra space," said Potter, according to Oregonian. "Just remember that there are reasons to have a structure other than the story the government has told."

Potter defended Zuberi's alleged sex slave plot called "Operation Take Over," arguing that it wasn't some "grand plan." She said he didn't follow the directions he reportedly created, which included leaving his phone at home. Potter also alleged the guns and ammunition did not belong to Zuberi but were left behind in his home and trailer by a former tenant.

Evidence photos of Zuberi's plot titled 'Operation Take Over.' Credit: US District Attorney's Office

The defense is not disputing Zuberi had sex with both women and that they were in his car. Potter, however, argued that the DNA or handcuffs found in his car and home to not "prove there was a kidnapping."

After the victim was abducted from Seattle, the FBI learned another woman reported Zuberi to the police and accused him of abducting and sexually assaulting her, where she was reportedly held in his garage for 12 hours. This incident occurred two months prior on May 6, 2023. The woman was local to Klamath Falls and alleged Zuberi kidnapped her from a local bar called The Pikey. Video surveillance footage shows Zuberi and the victim walking away from the bar together.