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Nov 13, 2009 - NUCLEAR PHYSICIST EVADES CHILD SUPPORT – FOUND GUILTY

*** MEDIA ADVISORY***

 

NUCLEAR PHYSICIST EVADES CHILD SUPPORT –

FOUND GUILTY

 

Media Contact:  Curtis T. Hill, Jr. - 296-1888

 

Dr. Amir Sanjari, 51, of Elkhart, was found guilty on November 9, 2009, of two counts of Non-Support of a Dependent Child, Class C Felonies, after a jury trial in Elkhart Superior Court 6.  Dr. Sanjari is a dual citizen of Iran and the United Kingdom, who is trained as a nuclear physicist.  He has done high-energy particle research, at one time assisting with a research project at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland.  After moving to South Bend to work at the University of Notre Dame, and then starting his own web design business, Dr. Sanjari settled his family in Elkhart, where his wife worked.

Divorced in 2000, wherein he was court-ordered to pay for the support of his children, Dr. Sanjari stopped paying child support in 2006.  His two daughters were teenagers at the time.  After repeated efforts to get child support payments from Dr. Sanjari failed, the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office then filed felony charges of Non-Support of a Dependent Child against Dr. Sanjari, pursuant to Indiana law.  Dr. Sanjari began moving around the United States until he was located and arrested in California, with the assistance of Federal officers from the Health and Human Services Department, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals.

After his arrest, Dr. Sanjari chose to go on a “hunger strike” to protest the charges against him.  Once he was extradited from California and arrived at the Elkhart County Correctional Facility, Dr. Sanjari did agree to take nutritional supplements while he continued his “hunger strike.”  Although the Court was prepared to appoint counsel for Dr. Sanjari, he waived his right to counsel and chose to represent himself. 

On the day of the trial, Dr. Sanjari refused to leave the Elkhart County Correctional Facility to come to court, according to representatives of the Elkhart County Sheriff.  The Director of Nursing for the Elkhart County Correctional Facility testified at a hearing before the trial that there was no medical reason preventing Dr. Sanjari from attending his trial.  Based on the evidence presented, Deputy Prosecutors Bruce A. Wells and James Stewart-Brown requested that the Court try Dr. Sanjari in his absence.  Judge David Bonfiglio granted that request.  The jury then heard from witnesses, including Dr. Sanjari’s ex-wife, and following a brief deliberation, found him guilty on both counts.

Currently Dr. Sanjari is over $56,000 behind in his child support.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 7, 2009, and faces up to 10 years in prison.                                                  

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