5 Iraqis arrested in connection with Springs sexual assault

Colorado Springs police arrested five Iraqi men Tuesday in connection with what they called a "rare” and "horrific” sexual assault on a woman early July 22. The arrests included one man who was a central character in an Army’s sergeant’s memoir of an Iraq deployment.

Sarmad Fadhi Mohammed and Jasim Mohammed Hasin Ramadon were taken into custody on suspicion of sexual assault. Mustafa Sataar Al Feraji, Ali Mohammed Hasan Al Juboori and Yasir Jabbar Jasim were arrested on suspicion of accessory to sexual assault. All are in their 20s.

Lt. Howard Black, who heads the Police Department’s special victim’s unit, said the severity of the attack made it rare in the city, adding that the woman’s injuries could have been life-threatening.

"We don’t see these types of assaults typically in Colorado Springs,” he said.

Ramadon was featured in "A Soldier’s Promise,” a combat memoir by Army First Sgt. Daniel Hendrex published in 2009 . Hendrex met the 14-year-old Ramadon while deployed to Husaybah, a town in Al Anbar Province in Iraq , according to book reviews on www.amazon.com. According to reviews, Ramadon encountered Hendrex’s soldiers in December 2003, and pleaded with them to arrest him in exchange for key information about local insurgents. The book chronicles Ramadon’s relationship with Hendrex’s unit, of which he became an intricate part, ultimately earning the nickname Steve-O, the review reads. Later, in exchange for his services, Hendrex helped Ramadon immigrate to the United States.

Of the five men arrested, Ramadon has the most extensive court record, including one open and one closed motor vehicle case and two protection orders related to domestic abuse, court records show . Sarmad Mohammed is the only other man with a previous Colorado criminal record, having been convicted of careless driving and driving while ability impaired in May 2011, according to court records.

The sexual assault investigation began on July 22, when police were called to the Wildridge at Cheyenne Mountain Ranch apartments on Woodside Lane to investigate the assault. After finding blood spattered in an apartment, the officer went to Memorial Hospital to see the victim.

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