Warning: This story includes violent content regarding a sexual assault and may not be suitable for all readers.
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A New Westminster man was handed a four-and-a-half year prison sentence for a violent sexual assault on a sex worker in Vancouver.
Ezaz Ahmed Razak, 25, was found guilty on May 21 of sexual assault, robbery, choking, unlawfully confining and uttering threats to a sex worker, who can only be identified as M.F. due to a publication ban.
In the early hours of Sept. 2, 2017, Razak and M.F. had consensual sex in a park in Vancouver. But after the consensual sex, Razak began choking M.F. and “demanded that the sex continue,” according to a court ruling posted online.
Razak continued to assault and sexually assault M.F., forcing her into oral sex and unprotected sex.
M.F. testified that she feared for her life during the attack, as she was made to kneel down and “pray to her God” while Razak told her “he could kill her or have her killed.”
The assault only ended when M.F. managed to escape and run to a nearby house.
“It was not a brief event. The sex assaults, assaults and confinement continued for some time at the park,” said Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick in her sentencing decision.
M.F. suffered a variety of injuries as a result of the attack, including to her shoulders, upper back, arms and knees. She suffered scrapes and bruises and a cut on her genitals.
M.F. reported having difficulty swallowing and eating after the attack.
Prosecutors sought a sentence of four to five years, while the defence asked for three to four years, focusing on Razak’s young age and lack of a criminal record.
Razak was born in New West and grew up in an unstable home, largely due to his father’s drug use and criminal activities. Social workers and police regularly attended the home and Razak was at times placed in foster care, according to the ruling.
Razaks’s father was ultimately deported to Fiji due to his criminal record, and Razak has mostly lived with his mother and family since graduating high school, though Fitzpatrick notes some uncertainty in the stability of his living situation.
Three months after the assault on M.F., Razak sexually assaulted another woman, who can only be identified as V.N. in a violent attack and uttered threats against her. Razak is expected to be sentenced on that matter on Oct. 18.
In sentencing Razak, Fitzpatrick noted a plethora of aggravating factors, including the violence involved in the assault, the lack of a condom and Razak telling M.F. at the time he had AIDS, the length of time the attack occurred for and the use of choking to subdue M.F.
Fitzpatrick also noted the vulnerability of M.F. as a sex worker as a “significant” aggravating factor.
Razak has also not acknowledged his guilt or expressed remorse, added Fitzpatrick, who ultimately sentenced Razak to four-and-a-half years in prison – two-and-a-half years after time served.
