A man convicted of sexually assaulting 2 University of Victoria International students in January 2016 has been handed an 8 year prison sentence by the court. With time already served David Robert Hope will spend 5 years and 1 month behind bars in a federal penitentiary.
The incident in January 2016 took 40 minutes, and involved Hope forcing his way into the victims' ground floor apartment, forcing them to disrobe, sexually assaulting them, and then leading them to 2 separate banks to withdraw all their money.
In passing sentence on the now 45 year old Hope, Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Power cited a number of aggravating factors, including his lengthy criminal record. He had 44 prior convictions stretching back to 1991, including 4 assaults and 4 indecent assaults. He had also been recently released from prison for a previous robbery when he attacked the 2 Chinese students. Despite that family and employers wrote letters of support on his behalf to the court, evidence Power says, that they were unaware of his double life.
Justice Power said Hope has a remarkable lack of insight into his own risk factors, and she expressed concern about his escalating pattern of behaviour. He says Hope was well aware of the fear he was causing the victims and leveraged it to his advantage -- threatening them if they cried out, and ensuring they would be terrified for their welfare. While Hope has expressed remorse for his past offences he has not accepted responsibility for the attack.
Crown Prosecutor Patrick Weir is satisfied with the sentence and conditions imposed:
"He's required to provide a sample of his DNA. He's required to abide by a lifetime firearms prohibition, so he's not allowed to possess firearms or various weapons. And he's obliged to abide by the sex offender information registry act, so he has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life."
Both women have said they no longer safe in Victoria or Canada. The judge noted the attack will have lasting impacts on the women's lives, studies and mental health. One of the women has returned to China, the other was in the courtroom for sentencing and as she left, was flashed a quick smile at reporters.