Close X
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
ADVT 
National

DNA match leads to conviction 22 years after B.C. sexual assault

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 May, 2024 11:12 AM
  • DNA match leads to conviction 22 years after B.C. sexual assault

Police in Metro Vancouver say a DNA match led to a man's arrest and conviction more than 22 years after he broke into a woman's home and sexually assaulted her. 

Richmond RCMP say Christopher Sharafi, also known as Mohammed Mendi Sharafi, was found guilty last October, and in April he was sentenced to five years in prison for the two offences dating back to December 2001.

The Mounties say the victim reported waking up to find a man standing in her room, and he then climbed into her bed and assaulted her as she tried to fight back.

They say in a statement that police collected and submitted DNA evidence for analysis, but the suspect remained unidentified until 2015, when the sample matched a known offender in the national DNA databank.

RCMP say Sharafi had been ordered to provide a DNA sample as part of a previous unrelated conviction and the Mounties' forensic laboratory confirmed the match.

They say Sharafi has now been found guilty of break and enter and sexual assault and sentenced to five years in prison for each offence, to be served concurrently.

MORE National ARTICLES

Metro Vancouver says stench from Burnaby refinery didn't breach air quality limits

Metro Vancouver says stench from Burnaby refinery didn't breach air quality limits
Metro Vancouver says an acrid odour that blanketed parts of the region on Sunday contained elevated contaminant levels, but didn't breach pollution standards. The regional federation of municipalities says it monitors emissions of particulates, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide from Burnaby's Parkland fuel refinery, and air quality objectives for the contaminants weren't exceeded.

Metro Vancouver says stench from Burnaby refinery didn't breach air quality limits

3 dead after helicopter crashes near Terrace

3 dead after helicopter crashes near Terrace
A heli-skiing company says three people have died after one of its helicopters crashed in west-central British Columbia. Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, which is based in Terrace, B.C., confirmed the deaths in a news release but did not say how many people were involved in the crash near the city.

3 dead after helicopter crashes near Terrace

Metro Vancouver residents scramble for another ride as bus strike drags into Day 2

Metro Vancouver residents scramble for another ride as bus strike drags into Day 2
Hundreds of thousands of Metro Vancouver residents are without a bus ride again today as striking transit supervisors carry on with their 48-hour strike. The dispute between more than 180 members of CUPE Local 4500 and Coast Mountain Bus Company has stopped 96 per cent of the region's buses as well as the SeaBus across Burrard Inlet.   

Metro Vancouver residents scramble for another ride as bus strike drags into Day 2

Winters Hotel fire: B.C. inquest told of chained door, 'no way out' from deadly blaze

Winters Hotel fire: B.C. inquest told of chained door, 'no way out' from deadly blaze
A coroner's inquest has been told that a Vancouver rooming house where a fire killed two people in 2022 had a chained door, as relatives testified about the devastating impact of the blaze. The inquest into the deaths of Mary Ann Garlow and Dennis Guay began Monday with family members describing their loss in the fire that gutted the Winters Hotel in Vancouver.   

Winters Hotel fire: B.C. inquest told of chained door, 'no way out' from deadly blaze

West Fraser Timber permanently closing Fraser Lake, B.C., sawmill

West Fraser Timber permanently closing Fraser Lake, B.C., sawmill
West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. says it's permanently closing its sawmill in Fraser Lake, B.C., after an orderly wind-down. The Vancouver-based company says it's unable to access economically viable fibre in the region. 

West Fraser Timber permanently closing Fraser Lake, B.C., sawmill

Review in police misconduct

Review in police misconduct
B.C.'s police complaint commissioner has ordered a review of the discipline handed out to an officer over sexual misconduct claims, saying the punishment didn't fit the seriousness of the sexual allegations that were "predatory in nature." The matter was investigated by the Vancouver Police Department, which found the officer committed two instances of discreditable conduct.  

Review in police misconduct