Saanich sexual assault case earns offender 'dangerous offender' status
A 2009 sexual assault trial that ended in the conviction of Robert Charles Lawrence helped Crown counsel successfully seek dangerous offender designation for the 34-year-old offender.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Keith Bracken last week declared Lawrence a dangerous offender.
"Whenever we seek a dangerous offender designation we look at the background of the accused, the seriousness of the offence he's been convicted of, and the potential risk that individual presents in committing serious personal injury offences in the future," said B.C. Crown spokesperson Neil MacKenzie.
In July 2008, Saanich police charged Lawrence with sexual assault and overcoming resistance by strangulation. A 2009 trial found him guilty.
Bracken sentenced Lawrence to an indeterminate amount of time in a federal prison.
kslavin@saanichnews.com
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