EZAZ Ahmed Razak, 24, of Surrey has been found guilty of, among other things, sexually assaulting and robbing a sex-trade worker by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick.
Razak was charged with sexually assaulting a sex trade worker, causing her bodily harm, robbing her, attempting to choke her to enable the robbery and sexual assault of her, unlawfully confining her, and uttering a threat to her to cause death or bodily harm to her.
According to court documents, Razak got off work on Friday, September 1, 2017 in the middle of the afternoon. Later in the evening, he met up with his brother-in-law, Michael Sharma, and a mutual friend, Baljit Bains, at the Edgewater Casino. The three men left the casino in the early hours of September 2, 2017, travelling east in Sharma’s Nissan truck along Kingsway Avenue through East Vancouver. The men’s initial plan was to make a brief stop to get something to eat and then continue their travel to Surrey.
As they were travelling along Kingsway Avenue, discussion amongst the men turned to women and finally, came to be focussed on the sex trade workers working along Kingsway Avenue. Eventually, Sharma pulled his truck over on a side street off Kingsway Avenue. The sex trade worker approached the driver’s side and she had a discussion with someone in the truck, although the evidence is conflicting as to who that was and what was said, according to court documents.
Razak got out of the truck and then walked with the sex trade worker to a nearby local park, known as Glen Park, about three blocks south of Kingsway Avenue, where Razak and the sex trade worker had consensual sexual intercourse. After they dropped off Razak, Sharma and Bains went to a nearby Pho restaurant to get something to eat.
The focus of the trial was to determine what happened at the park after this consensual intercourse.
At 1:49 a.m., after finishing at the restaurant, Sharma made his first call to Razak’s cellular phone in an attempt to find out where he was so that he and Bains could pick him up and they could continue on their way. A number of further phone calls between Razak and Sharma took place over the next 17 minutes.
According to court documents, at 2:03 a.m., a neighbouring family who lived across from the park called 9-1-1 to request assistance for the sex trade worker. Only minutes before, she had appeared on their doorstep in some distress. She alleged that she had been raped by a man named “Abdul”. The Vancouver Police Department was notified and officers began looking for the vehicle described by the sex trade worker to them.
Sometime after 2:06 a.m., Sharma and Bains picked up Razak near the park and they continued to drive toward Surrey. At approximately 2:11 a.m., the VPD spotted Sharma’s truck on Kingsway Avenue. VPD officers stopped the vehicle and identified three South Asian males in it.
Razak was detained and handcuffed at the traffic stop. He was found in possession of various personal items including some cash in bills and coins. He also had the sex trade worker’s cellular phone.
Meanwhile, VPD members secured the park’s playground area. Later that morning, various items were found in the playground area and they were identified and photographed. DNA was obtained from both Razak and the sex trade worker by members of the VPD’s Forensic Identification Unit.
The judge noted that it wasn’t in dispute that the sex trade worker and Razak had sexual intercourse at Glen Park. The questions in dispute was whether there were later interactions between the two as alleged by the sex trade worker.
The judge said: “I do not believe Mr. Razak and I am not left in doubt by his evidence.” But she believed the sex trade worker, noting: “On the basis of her testimony and the other evidence I have accepted at this trial, I conclude that the Crown has established, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Mr. Razak is guilty as charged.”
Regarding “sexual assault causing bodily harm,” the judge said she found that Razak sexually assaulted the sex trade worker by forcing her. The sex trade worker did not consent to this sexual contact, all of which Razak well knew. In addition, she found that in course of committing this sexual assault, Razak caused bodily harm to the sex worker.
Regarding “robbery,” the judge said that based on the sex worker’s evidence, which she accepted, she found that the Crown had proved beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of robbery. “Mr. Razak stole [the sex trade worker’s] money, both the $60 he had paid her and the other funds she had in her bra, while putting her in a chokehold,” she pointed out.
Regarding “choking,” the judge said that on the basis of the sex trade worker’s evidence, which she accepted, she found that the Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of choking to enable the further offence of robbery and sexual assault.
Regarding “unlawful confinement,” the judge said that on the basis of the sex trade worker’s evidence, which she accepted, she found that the Crown had proven beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of unlawful confinement. She noted that “for a significant period of time,” Razak confined the sex trade worker to the park by choking her and making various demands.
Regarding “threats,’ the judge said that on the basis of the sex trade worker’s evidence, which she accepted, she found that the Crown had proven beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of threatening.
The judge noted: “[The sex trade worker] testified to the various threats made by Mr. Razak over the course of the non-consensual sexual activity. These threats, amongst others, included that he or his friends could kill her by slashing her throat and burying her alive. I find that these threats were intended to intimidate [the sex trad worker], and were intended to be taken seriously by her, for the purpose of inducing fear and compliance with his demands. There can be no doubt that they had that effect.”
Full judgment:
https://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/sc/19/08/2019BCSC0815.htm
