A sixty-year-old woman beaten savagely while gardening in front of her home. A sex worker strangled with a cable. These two women were victims of extremely violent sexual assaults at the hands of David Biwota, a predator who could be declared a dangerous offender.
” I am very sick. I am schizophrenic. I take medication. Sometimes dramatic things happen and I don’t remember what happened, ”explained David Biwota last December at the Montreal courthouse. The 29-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm, aggravated sexual assault and forcible confinement.
Already found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder in cases of breaking and entering and possession of a weapon, David Biwota was a free man in May 2016 when he attacked, presumably at random, his first victim, while he was walking down a street in Montreal. A terrifying assault.
The 63-year-old woman is gardening in front of her house when David Biwota asks her for her phone number. Faced with her refusal, the 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) man follows the woman to her garage and tries to kiss her on the mouth.
As she pushes him away, Biwota grips the victim tightly with a neck grab. She is unable to breathe or cry out for help.
David Biwota throws the woman to the ground and proceeds to punch her in the face. He even goes so far as to knock his head against the ground. During this time, he touches the victim’s genitals. With the energy of despair, the woman grabs a small shovel and succeeds in pushing the accused to flee.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Crown prosecutor M.e Bruno Menard, in 2020
The victim had to be operated on for a cervical fracture, explained to the court the Crown prosecutor Me Bruno Menard. The extent of his after-effects was not specified during the hearing. Note that Biwota was only charged in May 2021 for this crime punishable by life imprisonment.
“I am very mentally ill”
In April 2020, David Biwota visits a sex worker after setting up an appointment to obtain sexual services. The predator wastes no time: as soon as he enters the apartment, he holds the victim by the arms and strangles him with a USB-type cable.
David Biwota carries the woman into the bedroom and sexually assaults her, while punching her in the face. He leaves, taking the victim’s phone.
Following his arrest, the Montreal Police Department appealed to the public to find other potential victims of David Biwota, indicating that he could have assaulted other sex workers.
Despite his mental health history, David Biwota was found fit to stand trial. Psychiatrists also concluded that he was responsible for his actions. However, while pleading guilty, the accused repeatedly cut the judge off to discuss his mental health issues.
“I just want to add one thing, Judge. I am a mental health patient. I take medicine every day. I am very sick, I am very mentally ill,” he said in English. He also discussed issues with his medication.
In this context, Judge Alexandre St-Onge took great care to ensure that the accused pleaded guilty in an informed manner. Defense attorney M.e Louis Morena also advised his client not to read a letter in which he mentioned the assaults.
“Catastrophic” delays at Pinel
Given the seriousness of the crimes, the Crown asked that David Biwota be assessed to determine whether he should be declared a long-term offender or a dangerous offender. These statutes allow the imposition of an indeterminate sentence or close supervision of the offender for years.
Judge St-Onge ordered a 60-day evaluation period at the National Institute of Forensic Psychiatry Philippe-Pinel. However, it would be surprising if the Institute were able to assess David Biwota during this period.
Overloaded with demands and facing a shortage of psychiatrists, the facility has been consistently unable to meet this deadline in 2022.
The “catastrophic” delays even prompted Judge Dennis Galiatsatos to refuse to extend the 60-day trial period in the case of a violent criminal last December. This man guilty of having stabbed someone in the face was therefore not declared a dangerous offender.
“The Philippe-Pinel Institute has been sounding the alarm for more than two years and the State has chosen not to react. […] It is unacceptable that nothing has been done,” thundered Judge Galiatsatos. The Institute admitted in court that it would take three years to meet the legal deadline.
At the end of December, an influential international pedophile narrowly escaped the label of dangerous offender for the same reason.
Delays in serving dangerous sex offenders
Judge Richard P. Daoust will decide on Tuesday whether he agrees to grant the National Institute of Forensic Psychiatry Philippe-Pinel a new 45-day period to assess the dangerousness of the sexual predator Gabriel-Karl Côté, who pleaded guilty, the December 23, 2021, to charges of producing, possessing and accessing child pornography. During his arrest, he had 483 photos and 66 videos of his victim, in addition to having had access to 160 additional photos. The problem is that the prosecution was on its third request for delays in seven months, when the law sets the maximum for such an assessment at 60 days and defense lawyer Nicolas Gagnon vigorously opposed it. . He invoked a decision rendered last December by a judge of the Court of Quebec, in Montreal, who refused new delays for an accused whom Pinel was slow to assess, for lack of personnel.
Normand Boivin, The Daily