Mother of teen girl raped by a NC restaurant owner speaks out: 'She gets to choose her destiny'

DURHAM COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A nearly year-long nightmare has come to a close for a North Carolina mom and her family. For the first time, since March 2022, they will not have to wonder if Tamer El Tanany is out of jail. "Over the past year it was just constantly waking up in the morning and my daughter and myself checking our phones to make sure he was still listed as an active inmate in the Durham County Jail," she reflected.

Monday morning her family finally got some relief and that's because El Tanany is going away for a long time. The former Rougemont pizza shop co-owner took a plea in a Durham County Court where he admitted to the rape, assault, and kidnapping of his then 15-year-old employee.

According to the Durham County District Attorney's Office, he pleaded guilty Monday to one count of statutory rape, two counts of a statutory sex offense, one count of first-degree kidnapping, one count of assault on a female, and one count of interfering with emergency communications.

"This was not a casual sex encounter. This was a violent rape. He used his position of power as a manager to groom and rape a child in a small community," the mother continued.

The assault happened in the early hours of March 24, 2022.

The mom said El Tanany took her teen daughter from her home and raped her behind Romas Pizza in Rougemont.

"He drove her behind their building and immediately started issuing orders for her to take off her clothes and raped her. So it's, it's been a long and volatile scenario. And I'm grateful that we're finally able to use our voices and talk about it," the mom continued.

But it hasn't been easy for the mother or her daughter

"She has suffered from depression and anxiety, and she has not been able to get back to school. She has not been able to go back to work. Her life came to a screeching standstill."

Despite the trauma and pain connected to the assault this mom and her daughter are using their voice in hopes others will come forward and share their story if they were victims of sexual assault.

"They came into court today and their voices were heard not in a meek whisper but in a loud roar," she said.

"She gets to choose her destiny. She gets to choose how she grows up, what she turns into, and who she's going to be, he didn't take any of those things from her. But his legacy for the rest of his life is going to be that he is a pedophile, that he is a rapist, and that he is a kidnapper. And that's something that he chose for himself. But he didn't define my child's legacy," she continued.

El Tannay was sentenced to a minimum of 192 months to a maximum of 291 months in prison. In addition, he was ordered to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life, to be placed on post-release satellite-based monitoring for a period of 10 years, and to never have contact with the victim or her family.

MORE NEWS: 'What about the victims?' Durham hears community feedback on how to hand out opioid settlement money

Groups make pitches for sidewalk repairs, other safety issues at Durham City Hall

Nash Co. Commissioner calls for resignation of DSS leadership after child's death, violations found