Warning: This story contains graphic details that may be distressing to some readers.
A B.C. Supreme Court justice has found a man guilty of breaking into a Richmond woman’s home and sexually assaulting her in 2001.
Justice Nitya Iyer said she was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of Christopher Sharafi, saying his evidence lacked credibility.
Iyer said in her Oct. 23 decision that the woman, A.B. (Glacier Media has changed her initials to protect her identity) was hosting a bachelorette party to celebrate the upcoming wedding of a close friend. After meeting at her home, the group travelled to a downtown Vancouver restaurant and then a few of them moved on to the Dufferin Hotel bar where they stayed until closing time.
Arriving home, A.B. went to bed, falling asleep quickly.
“There was a struggle. He punched her and pulled her off the bed. While holding her down, he pulled off her pyjama bottoms and panties and pulled down his jeans,” Iyer said.
He stayed for a bit following the sexual assault and then left, the court heard.
A.B. ran to a convenience store and called police. She was taken to hospital where a DNA swab was taken.
Police said the man entered through a window with a broken interior latch in the laundry room.
In 2015, while Sharafi was incarcerated on unrelated matters, police obtained an order to take a sample of his DNA. The DNA matched A.B.'s sample and Sharafi was charged in 2020.
Iyer said the central issue in the case was whether or not A.B. met Sharafi at the Dufferin Hotel and had consensual sex with him.
He testified he was visiting friends in Vancouver’s West End and met A.B. at the hotel. He said he started chatting with her at the bar. He said she allowed him to buy her a drink after which they went outside.
He testified they soon went to his van and had sex.
“He said that when she saw he had not worn a condom, she became angry and said, ‘How do I know you’re not HIV+?’ He said that he responded, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I am HIV+,’ even though that was not true. He said that she ‘lost it.’”
Iyer said with the passage of time, one would expect Sharafi’s memory to be poor.
“Instead, his recollection of certain details was strikingly clear. This undermines his credibility,” she said.
Further, she called some of his testimony evasive.
Moreover, Iyer said, if Sharafi’s account were credible, A.B.’s friend would have noticed her absence from the bar.
She said A.B. would have been dishevelled after such an encounter.
“She would also have shown visible signs of emotion, having just learned that she had had unprotected sex with person who was HIV+,” Iyer said. "Again, it is not conceivable that her close friend ... would have failed to notice any of these things.”
And, Iyer said, A.B.’s inconsistencies in some parts of her testimony “does not cause me to doubt the credibility of her denial that she met Mr. Sharafi at the Dufferin and had sex with him.”
“No one suggested that she would have forgotten such an encounter and it is not conceivable that she would have done so,” Iyer said.
“These fundamental flaws, together with Mr. Sharafi’s lack of credibility cause me to reject his explanation of how his DNA ended up in (A.B.)’s body that night.”
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault, help is available.
- In an emergency, call 911
- In a crisis, call 1-800-563-0808
- To report a person under 19 who needs protection to the Ministry of Children and Family Development, call 310-1234 (no area code required)
You can find a full list of resources on the B.C. government’s website.
