for The New York Times: Lawmaker Is Left With ‘Lifetime Trauma’ as Attacker Pleads Guilty by José A. Alvarado Jr.

News

for The New York Times: Lawmaker Is Left With ‘Lifetime Trauma’ as Attacker Pleads Guilty

josé a. alvarado jr.

Apr 9, 2024

Location: Connecticut

Summary

Andrey Desmond pleaded guilty to three felony charges this week in the attack on Maryam Khan, a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, last June.

It has been nearly 10 months since a man attacked Maryam Khan, the first Muslim elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives, outside an Eid al-Adha prayer service in Hartford, Conn. She is still struggling to heal, she said.

“I have a lot of things to get through, both emotionally and physically,” Ms. Khan said. “I’m still working on trying to heal and process what happened.”

But she felt some closure in a courtroom on Tuesday, she said, when she watched her attacker plead guilty to felony charges related to the attack.

The man, Andrey Desmond, 30, of New Britain, Conn., pleaded guilty to attempted third-degree sexual assault, strangulation and risk of injury to a child, according to the clerk’s office at the State Superior Court in Hartford.

“He claimed to understand what was happening, and for me, personally, it was helpful to be there and to witness that,” Ms. Khan said.

Photographed for The New York Times, with words by Erin Nolan

Lawmaker Is Left With ‘Lifetime Trauma’ as Attacker Pleads Guilty
Andrey Desmond pleaded guilty to three felony charges this week in the attack on Maryam Khan, a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, last June.
Nytimes.com

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José A. Alvarado Jr.

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