Las Vegas NowChild Abuse Case Dismissed Against Arash Hashemi

Child Abuse Case Dismissed Against Arash Hashemi

There are new developments in the case against an Iranian man accused of abusing his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter. 

The child abuse case against Arash Hashemi was dismissed Monday. But the case isn't over yet.

The deputy district attorney shocked the court by voluntarily dismissing this case. However, she did it because she plans to seek a Grand Jury indictment.

When court began 90 minutes after the scheduled start time, Attorney Bill Terry immediately objected to Eyewitness News being in court. After the 15-minute argument, the judge decided to allow us to record the proceedings.

Deputy District Attorney Vicky Monroe then stated she wanted to voluntarily dismiss the case so she can re-file it and seek a Grand Jury indictment. The defense objected to the motion but Judge Nancy Oesterle granted the D.A.'s request and dismissed the case.

Neither the defendant nor his attorney or the deputy district attorney would talk to Eyewitness News after the hearing.

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The Channel 8 I-Team has been following this story for more than a month, but it began in August when Hashemi and his girlfriend, Samaneh Rezaei, rushed her daughter to the emergency room.

The little girl needed emergency brain surgery.

The child's mother said her daughter fell down the stairs, but doctors found signs of long-term physical abuse.

Police charged Hashemi with four counts of felony child abuse and neglect. The criminal complaint accuses him of hitting, biting and subjecting the 3-year-old to other forms of unjustifiable physical pain.

Arash Hashemi is no stranger to the court system. He has a long history of charges, including assault, but Hashemi also has a history of getting his charges dropped.

People who know him say he moved to Las Vegas from Iran when he was a teenager. Arash Hasheim's criminal record started soon after with an arrest in 1989. He was 18 years old when he was charged with two counts of battery and one count of resisting a police officer. All the charges were dismissed.

The prosecutor in that case, Nancy Oesterle, is now a judge. She is the same judge who presided over Hashemi's current felony child abuse case.

Six months later, in 1990 Hashemi is charged with writing bad checks. Two of the counts are dismissed and he pleads down to a lesser misdemeanor on a third charge. That same year he pleaded guilty to reckless driving and paid a $100 fine.

In 1992, '93, and '95, police charged him seven times for crimes including resisting and obstructing a police officer and driving on a suspended license and speeding.

Judges dismissed two of the charges. Hashemi pleaded guilty to the others and over that four-year period he paid a total of $1,500. He also went to driving school.

The I-Team learned first hand about Hashemi's driving habits during an investigation on aggressive drivers.

In 1996, at the age of 25, police again charged Hashemi with battery. Once again, a judge dismissed the case. A year later police charged him with two counts of battery. A different judge dismissed that case, too.

For more than nine years criminal court records have nothing on Hashemi. But he has been involved in several civil cases.

County and city records indicate he has never applied for a business license. However, sources say he is a wealthy entrepreneur who has owned a string of local businesses.

His current lawyer, Bill Terry -- a high-profile defense attorney -- represented Hashemi in 1997 on the last battery case. Now, Terry will try to get Hashemi's felony child abuse and neglect charges dismissed as well. 

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Samaneh Rezaei, Hashemi's girlfriend and mother of the little girl, also faced felony child neglect charges. But last week, immigration officials deported the German national.

The deputy district attorney asked the judge four weeks ago to keep Rezaei here. But instead of ruling on that request, Judge Douglas Smith ordered police to give Rezaei her passport back.

Her three-year-old daughter remains in Las Vegas in the care of Child Protective Services. A custody hearing is currently in family court.

Email your comments to Investigative Reporter Adrienne Augustus.