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Abdool Azeez was sentenced after a jury found him guilty in November of three separate counts of felony rape, the DA's office said.
Azeez met the victim in 2013 while doing construction work on her grandmother’s Mount Vernon-based business and home. Despite knowing the victim was a minor, Azeez, then 35, coaxed her into a sexual relationship that would continue to January of 2014 when the victim’s mother discovered the relationship through social media, Scarpino said.
An arrest warrant was issued for Azeez, who fled to Guyana where he remained for two years in an effort to avoid apprehension. He ultimately returned to the U.S. when the victim turned 17 and was arrested on the warrant.
Upon his release from prison, Azeez must register as a sex offender and will also be on post-release supervision for 10 years.
Assistant District Attorney Joyce Miller, Deputy Bureau Chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau, prosecuted the case.
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