CHRISTOPHER Sharafi, also known as Mohammed Mendi Sharafi, was found guilty in October 2023 of a 2001 sexual assault following a break-and-enter to a residence in Richmond. On April 30, 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,” said Inspector Michael Cohee, Investigative Services Officer, on Wednesday.
“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 ordered by the court 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 2023. He has now been 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,” said Cohee.
