Close X
Saturday, October 12, 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

Homicide in Chinatown: VPD

Homicide in Chinatown: VPD
Sergeant Steve Addison says the unnamed victim was attacked (near Carrall Street and East Hastings Street) just after 5 a.m. The man was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead.  

Homicide in Chinatown: VPD

CBSA major drug bust

CBSA major drug bust
Canada Border Services Agency says it seized nearly 200 kilograms of opium concealed in shipping containers arriving in B-C. A statement from the agency says a bust on August 15th at an examination facility in Burnaby turned up 150 kilograms of opium hidden in steel machinery.

CBSA major drug bust

Health Canada authorizes updated Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine

Health Canada authorizes updated Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine
Health Canada has authorized Pfizer-BioNTech's updated COVID-19 vaccine for people six months and older.  The mRNA vaccine targets the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant that is circulating in Canada. This is the second vaccine targeting XBB.1.5 that will be available in this country. 

Health Canada authorizes updated Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine

Cdn economy to resume growth in 2024: report

Cdn economy to resume growth in 2024: report
A new report from Deloitte Canada suggests the economy's near-term struggles will ease next year as the Bank of Canada begins cutting its key lending rate. The report estimates GDP will rise one per cent this year and 0.9 per cent next year. Deloitte Canada had earlier predicted GDP would contract 0.9 per cent in 2023.

Cdn economy to resume growth in 2024: report

'Enhanced masking' coming in health-care:Dix

'Enhanced masking' coming in health-care:Dix
Dix says the province has previously stated it would expect "enhanced masking" in health-care settings for the respiratory illness season in the fall but did not say whether the new rules will be mandatory. The minister says ensuring people who are already sick in hospital have the maximum protection possible during the season is important.

'Enhanced masking' coming in health-care:Dix

Delta property seized in drug bust

Delta property seized in drug bust
Delta police say a property valued at more than two-million-dollars has been seized in relation to a large-scale drug investigation. Police say the residence in Delta was transferred to the Province of B-C after the Supreme Court deemed the home as "offence-related property."

Delta property seized in drug bust