Man who immigrated to Canada fled the country one day after jury convicted him of sexual assault

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On Feb.11, 2023, “at the victim’s home, the offender took two photographs of the victim — one with her bra on and one showing her bare breasts. She said that when she saw that her face was in the photos, she asked him to delete them, but he did not,” said the decision.

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“The offender began asking the victim for sex. She told him that she was not ready — sometimes he would be okay with that but sometimes he would get angry. She began to think that he was looking for sex only, and told him that if that was the case, she was not the right girl for him. She wanted to leave vaginal intercourse until marriage.”

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During a Feb. 14, 2022 visit, “he took her phone, and saw that she had been talking to other people on Bumble. He then became angry and said that she didn’t deserve him and would punish her, and commanded her to remove her clothes,” said the decision.

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“She was shaking and did so because she was scared. He pushed her onto the bed and put his penis in her vagina. She said that it was painful and that she was screaming, asking him to stop. He did.”

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He later “told her that he had taken her virginity and that no man on this earth would accept her, because they would know she was not pure. He said that he would tell her parents that she was a slut and had used him. He said that she would not be able to tell anyone what had happened because no one would believe her. He said that if she was not intimate with him, he would show the nude photos to her family. He said if she was nice and obeyed him, he would not say anything to anyone, but if she made him angry ‘this’ would happen — this was how he relieved his anger. She started shaking because if she told her family how it had happened and they didn’t believe her, she would lose them and be alone with nowhere to go. She thought she should stay with him to save her family from shame.”

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After that, H.B. “continued to have vaginal intercourse with the victim,” said the decision. “There were approximately 30 assaults — three times each time she went to his apartment. She didn’t want the intercourse — she went along with it out of fear. Many of the assaults were brutal and painful.”

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A psychiatric report on H.B. prepared for the sentencing hearing “says that as a result of the criminal charges against him (which he denied), the offender suffers from (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression, and that he ‘should be given a chance to get treatment for his mental illness, and proper rehabilitation for the future,’” said the decision.

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The Crown argued H.B. should get eight years in prison. H.B. fired his lawyer before the sentencing hearing.

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His victim “says that the assaults have left a permanent scar of deep-seated self-disgust. She says that she could feel the hatred in the offender’s actions and felt that sex was a weapon used against her. She says that he met her pain and guilt with mocking laughter and blame. She was made to feel that her truth was worthless, and that seeking justice would be futile, leaving her in a paralyzing fear of failure.”

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She’s been left with “the crushing weight of self-doubt,” said the decision. “The agonizing belief that she is unwise and too naïve to live in this world. She has been left with a deep sense of shame.”

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While the jury convicted H.B. of extortion, the Crown asked that charge be stayed.

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The victim “says that the offender’s threats to expose the intimate photos of her, and to destroy her and her family were terrorizing, leading her to believe that suicide was the only escape. She only refrained because she knew her family would be devastated,” said the decision.

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“The shame and fear of the photos being made public were so overwhelming that she deleted all her social media accounts. She remains afraid that the offender will share the photos with her friends or family.”

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