U.S. marshals are looking for Iranian man accused of raping a woman at a bar he owned, and they are asking the public to help track him down.
Jahangeer "John" Irani, 56, is an avid gambler, often frequenting casinos in Atlantic City, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, but he appears to have hit hard times.
In 2006, he fled the Washington area after he was charged with rape while armed in Charles County. It wasn't Irani's first sex offense charge, officials said. In 1990, Irani was convicted of first-degree sex assault in Oregon.
He was arrested in 2008 in Los Angeles outside a Goodwill homeless shelter because of suspicious behavior.
But the 2006 rape warrant had not been entered into the computer system, and Irani was ultimately let go.
"John Irani is a predator and a gambler. I'm hoping his luck has run out and an Examiner reader will see him at a casino or on the street somewhere and give us a call," said Supervisory Inspector Matt Burke of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Irani has lived in Waldorf, Md., Los Angeles and Portland, Ore.
Anyone with information on the case should contact the marshals at 301-489-1717.
Since 2008, federal authorities have credited readers of The Examiner with the capture of 40 fugitives, including murderers, kidnappers, child sex offenders, rapists and scam artists.
At least eight captured fugitives were convicted killers or wanted on a homicide charge.
Last month, a tip from a reader led directly to the capture of a convicted murderer who allegedly violated the terms of his parole.
