An 86-year-old woman raped by a complete stranger had a real nightmare in April 2021. A repeat offender suddenly entered a home for the elderly before attacking one of the occupants, who defended by hitting its assailant with a vacuum cleaner. Charlie Fleming has pleaded guilty and is expected to face five years in prison.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The 34-year-old pleaded guilty last July. The attorney of record, Mr.e Charles Doucet, and defense lawyer Marie-Hélène Giroux, suggested to Judge Pierre Labelle a five-year sentence.
Charlie Fleming prowls around a low-cost housing (HLM) for the elderly in April 2021 in downtown Montreal. It is easily introduced inside a building that comes under the Municipal Housing Office (OMH). The building is reserved for low-income seniors.
The man knocks on the door of one of the occupants, according to the account of the facts presented Monday afternoon at the Montreal courthouse. As she refuses to open to him, he tries a second address, explaining to the resident that he is lost, summarized the prosecutor in the file, Mr.e Charles Doucet, Monday afternoon. An 86-year-old woman answers him, the door ajar.
Charlie Fleming violently pushes her and takes off her pants. He rubs his genitals on one of the victim’s buttocks and tries to sodomize her. The latter is then on the ground, partially stripped and immobilized by the aggressor. He remains silent when the woman calls for help.
The occupant of the dwelling finally manages to grab her vacuum cleaner and hits the intruder several times with the object. He makes death threats. “Help, he’s going to kill me!” “, shouts the eldest in distress.
A neighbor alerted by his cries comes to his aid and witnesses part of the attack. Charlie Fleming tries to flee, but he is quickly arrested outside the building by the police called to the scene.
Recidivist
Charlie Fleming had previously received a six-year prison sentence for sexual assault. Present in the box of the accused, he remained unmoved throughout the hearing, his eyebrows furrowed.
The victim in this case, now 87, did not want to go to trial. Out of respect for the victim, the court did not want to force her to testify. “He is a vulnerable person. She did not want a trial, mainly because of her age, ”explained the Crown attorney, speaking to Judge Pierre Labelle.
Judgment will be delivered on Friday morning.