Child Rapist Begins Serving Life Sentence
Mir Aseel, 66 was recently transferred from the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) Reception and Medical Center to the Century Correctional Institute where he will reside for the rest of his life.
On January 12, 2026, Aseel was sentenced to life in prison following a trial conviction of four child sexual abuse charges.
According to a press release by the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, “In 2021, investigators confirmed multiple incidents of inappropriate sexual contact at the suspect’s residence in northwest Gainesville following forensic interviews with the victims.”
Aseel was arrested on November 16, 2021.
Aseel was released from jail after posting a $400,000 bond, court records show.
In May 2022, prosecutors with the Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office formally filed charges against Aseel.
Aseel took his case to trial on November 3, 2025. After three days of proceedings, a jury found him guilty on all counts. Aseel’s bond was subsequently revoked, and he was placed into custody of the Alachua County Jail pending a pre-sentence investigation.
On October 18, 2023, Steven G. Firsco, counsel for Aseel, and Assistant State Attorney Pamela Brockway conducted several depositions relating to the case that were made publicly available on the court records website.
Robert Nobles, a former neighbor of Aseel, told the attorneys that Aseel’s wife (now ex-wife) spoke with him after her husband was arrested.
Nobles said, “I didn’t want to tell her there's no way in hell; I didn’t want to be like that. I said, ‘Do you think this is even remotely possible?...’ She says, ‘I don’t know. I don’t think so,’ just like that.”
Nobles’ wife, Jennifer Nobles, was also deposed and described going over to Aseel’s wife’s house after finding out about his arrest. She said, “There was a friend with her… Her friend kept telling her, ‘Oh, he did it. He’s guilty; I know it.’ I looked at [Aseel’s wife] and I said, ‘Are you sure…’ She says, ‘I don’t know…’”
Jack Roberts, a former neighbor of Aseel and retired sheriff’s office deputy, said that he saw Aseel in person after his arrest. Roberts said Aseel asked him to write him a character reference, and he said yes. However, it’s unclear if he did because no letters of support appear for Aseel on his case file.
Cindy Bashford, who described having a friendly relationship with Aseel, told the attorneys that after he was arrested, she had a phone conversation with his wife.
Bashford said Aseel’s wife was “crying for about a couple of minutes” before she “went into explaining” what happened, but it was mostly "all about her." Bashford said that Aseel’s wife kept "rambling on about how it was going to affect her.” “I’m going to have to sell my house. I’m going to have to quit school,” Bashford described her saying.
During the conversation, Bashford asked if she believed Aseel “did something” to one of the victims. Aseel’s wife “wouldn’t answer” the question, Bashford described. “I thought that was so strange because I would never think that my husband… I wouldn't immediately think that my husband was guilty. And that is just the feeling I got, that she thought he was guilty of something.”
Bashford described another phone call she received from Aseel’s wife a few weeks later, saying, “I felt like I was being quizzed… ‘Have you heard from Mir? Do you know anything?’ And at that point, I really didn’t… I just remember that she sounded—I don’t know any other way to say it other than giddy—like this weight had been lifted off her shoulders; and everything she said sounded happy this time, and I just thought that was so strange.”
Aseel has been designated as a sexual predator and Frisco has filed a notice of appeal on his behalf.
