Close X
Wednesday, October 9, 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

New IRCC measures to verify foreign students’ letters of acceptance: Report

New IRCC measures to verify foreign students’ letters of acceptance: Report
Between January and June 2023, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada issued more than 280,000 new study permits -- a 77 per cent increase compared to the same time in 2022. Meanwhile, beginning January 1, 2024, the Canadian government doubled the cost-of-living financial requirement for incoming international students. This means that a single applicant will need to show they have C$20,635 ($15,181) in addition to their first year of tuition and travel costs.

New IRCC measures to verify foreign students’ letters of acceptance: Report

Ottawa to accept applications from refugees seeking to leave Gaza

Ottawa to accept applications from refugees seeking to leave Gaza
The National Council of Canadian Muslims is calling on the federal government to remove a cap on the number of Palestinians who can seek refuge with their Canadian extended family members from the violence in the Gaza Strip.

Ottawa to accept applications from refugees seeking to leave Gaza

Canada's clean-tech revolution will be limited without more clean power: Champagne

Canada's clean-tech revolution will be limited without more clean power: Champagne
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne spent most of last year doling out big bucks for massive new electric-vehicle battery plants as Canada made some major moves to solidify its green industrial strategy. But he is warning that the country is reaching the limits of its abundant renewable energy capacity, and making more electricity is going to be key to keeping the wins coming.

Canada's clean-tech revolution will be limited without more clean power: Champagne

Lisa Batstone, B.C. mother who murdered daughter, 8, dies in prison

Lisa Batstone, B.C. mother who murdered daughter, 8, dies in prison
A British Columbia woman who was convicted of murdering her eight-year-old daughter has been found dead in prison. Correctional Service Canada says Lisa Batstone, who was serving an indeterminate life sentence for suffocating her sleeping child with a plastic bag in 2014, died in custody on Monday.

Lisa Batstone, B.C. mother who murdered daughter, 8, dies in prison

BC United MLA Elenore Sturko receives unwelcome Christmas gift from a local drug activist

BC United MLA Elenore Sturko receives unwelcome Christmas gift from a local drug activist
B-C United M-L-A Elenore Sturko says she and other lawmakers got an unwelcome Christmas gift this year from local drug activist Dana Larsen. Sturko says she was offended to receive a Christmas package containing psilocybin mushrooms and a coca leaf, which Larsen offers at local dispensaries. 

BC United MLA Elenore Sturko receives unwelcome Christmas gift from a local drug activist

Experts eye interest rate in 2024 as assessed property values stabilize in B.C.

Experts eye interest rate in 2024 as assessed property values stabilize in B.C.
The assessed value of a single-family home in Vancouver which reflected the market on July 1, 2023, rose four per cent to just above $2.2 million, while strata properties remained nearly unchanged at $807,000.  

Experts eye interest rate in 2024 as assessed property values stabilize in B.C.