Man convicted and sentenced in 2001 sexual assault following break and enter to a residence

Richmond

2024-05-29 07:20 PDT

File # 2001-45601

Man convicted and sentenced in 2001 sexual assault following break and enter to a residence in Richmond. Christopher Sharafi, also known as Mohammed Mendi Sharafi, was found guilty in October of 2023 and on April 30, 2024 he was sentenced to five years in prison for the break and enter and five years in prison for the sexual assault to be served concurrently.

We wish to commend the victim on the courage she has demonstrated throughout this entire ordeal. She has been unwavering in seeing the offender brought to justice despite having to relive these traumatic events. We recognize how difficult it can be for victims to report offences to police, especially sexual assaults. To lessen the effects of crime and trauma, we provide victims of crime, witnesses and their families with professional, supportive, and timely assistance from our Victim Services Unit, says Inspector Michael Cohee, Investigate Services Officer, With the support of the victim from this heinous act, we are sharing this incident in the hopes of encouraging anyone who has been victimized to come forward in the hopes of seeking justice for them.

On December 2, 2001 Richmond RCMP received a report of a sexual assault following a break and enter to a residence. The victim advised she had woken-up to find a man standing in her room who then climbed into her bed. Unfortunately, despite her attempts to fight back the victim was sexually assaulted. Following the assault, the victim left her residence and called police from a local business.

Multiple investigators from Richmond RCMP Serious Crime Unit conducted a thorough and extensive investigation into this matter but unfortunately, were unable to identify the suspect. DNA evidence was collected and submitted for analysis, however, the suspect remained unidentified until 2015 when the suspect sample matched to a known offender on the National DNA Data Bank. As part of a conviction on an unrelated matter, Sharafi had been court ordered to provide his DNA sample for inclusion into the DNA Data Bank. Richmond RCMP Serious Crime Unit investigators subsequently obtained a DNA warrant from Sharafi and submitted it to the RCMP Forensic Laboratory for analysis which confirmed the match.

Richmond RCMP SCU submitted a report to Crown Counsel. During the subsequent prosecution Sharafi was found guilty of break and enter and sexual assault in October of 2023 and sentenced to five years in jail for each offence.

We appreciate everything the victim has done in support of this criminal investigation and hope the conviction and sentencing offers some relief that justice has been served, says Inspector Cohee.

Richmond RCMP encourages anyone who has been a victim of crime to report it to the police of jurisdiction.

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Email: richmond_media@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Website: richmond.rcmp.ca

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