Immigrant guilty of sexual assaults on women including minors
An immigrant who obtained permanent residency in Canada through his wife’s sponsorship committed sexual assault against eight women, including two minors. The man attempted to reduce his prison sentence to six months minus one day to avoid deportation.
Sobhi Akra, who lives in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal and is a Lebanese national, moved to Canada in 2015 with his wife’s sponsorship.
Shortly after arriving, between October 2017 and November 2018, Akra was involved in a series of sexual assaults. Over this period, he assaulted eight women, including two minors. His attacks typically involved groping victims from behind, with one instance involving a 17-year-old girl in a school uniform.
Le #SPVM est à la recherche de victimes potentielles de Sobhi Akra, 35 ans, arrêté le 8 novembre dernier, en lien avec des agressions sexuelles.https://t.co/cQrVU1DS5t pic.twitter.com/MCj0R4lYDn
— Police Montréal (@SPVM) November 16, 2018
In Lebanon, 96% percentage of sexual and violent crimes remain unreported due to societal stigma and financial barriers according to L’Orient Le-Jour newspaper. Victims often face substantial costs and fear damaging their family's reputation, deterring them from seeking justice.
St-Laurent man who sexually assaulted several women faces deportation after appeal rejected https://t.co/Z0FSpfON4N pic.twitter.com/STI7kpQ44p
— National Post (@nationalpost) August 22, 2024
However, Akra’s crimes in Canada are serious and there is a risk of deportation. To avoid it, he pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault and three attempted assaults, hoping for a sentence of six months minus one day.
This plea was rejected, and he was sentenced to 16 months in prison, with four months already served. Akra's defense invoked the controversial C-5 law, which allows some offenders to serve their sentences in the community under specific conditions.
The Crown sought a 22-month prison term, but Akra’s lawyer argued for community service or a shorter prison term to avoid deportation. The lawyer also suggested Akra was a victim of his circumstances, claiming struggles with integration and work dissatisfaction.
This case raises concerns about the effectiveness of current immigration and sentencing laws. Recent reforms on the extradition law, led by Liberal MP Randeep Sarai, detailed that extradition cannot take place if it contravenes Article 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Liberals have weakened the justice system by allowing criminals to get better sentences for their crimes.
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