Prosecutor won't file charges in filmmaker assault

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - No charges will be filed in the alleged assault of an Arab-American filmmaker who claimed he was the victim of a hate crime beating when he tried to enter a house uninvited in Fairfield, prosecutors said Monday.

Jefferson County Attorney Timothy Dille released a five-page report that said the investigation failed to show a crime occurred against Usama Alshaibi.

"From the details that came out of the investigation, no crime can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt," he told The Associated Press.

Alshaibi reported to police that he was walking home from a downtown bar in the early hours of March 6 when he heard music. He said a woman told him that a party was going on inside a house so he knocked on the door. He told police that after he told his name to people inside the house they punched him, kicked him in the head and called him "Osama bin Laden."

Dille said the injuries Alshaibi suffered "just as likely were caused by the multiple falls outside of the home."

A telephone message left Monday for Alshaibi was not immediately returned.

Evidence also shows that Alshaibi, who is making a film about discrimination against Arabs in the U.S., did not concoct his story to gain publicity, the report said.

"There is zero evidence of that," the report said. "He presents as very sincere and it is our belief that he is simply hoping to fill in some of the gaps for himself so he has a better understanding of what happened."

The report shows that police checked the area in the hours after the alleged assault and did not notice any music. The woman Alshaibi talked about could not be located.

Dille said the four people in the house had finished watching a movie when they noticed a shadow outside the door.

They opened the door and one of the individuals told Alshaibi he wasn't welcome. Alshaibi didn't leave. Then another person in the house forcefully pushed him out of the door with his hands and a foot, the report indicates.

Dille said in the report that the people in the house said they saw Alshaibi fall several times outside.

The report also indicates that Alshaibi was asking a girl in the house what she was doing later.

"The kids, especially the girls, reported that this type of question was creepy and made them uncomfortable," the report said.

According to the report, Iowa laws allow people to protect themselves inside their own house.

"The investigation reveals the only physical contact inside the house" was when Alshaibi was pushed out the door. Dille also noted that Alshaibi didn't seek medical attention until the following day.

"It is our opinion that no charges should be filed in this situation as the facts do not demonstrate criminal behavior beyond a reasonable doubt," Dille said in the report.

Dille also said Alshaibi won't be charged with trespassing or public intoxication.

- By Michael J. Crumb, Associated Press