Thanks to DNA testing, a stray Band-Aid and a condom, a 33-year-old Langford man will spend two years in prison and two more on probation for a pair of assaults on sex workers.
Edward Charles Burman picked up both women in Victoria in the vicinity of Government and Bay streets. One was taken to the Rock Bay area and the other behind a nearby hotel.
In both incidents, the women were assaulted. Burman, a stocky, solidly built man, was also convicted on one count of robbery.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Randall Wong said the victims were “violently manhandled” by Burman and struck repeatedly, leaving them with numerous contusions.
“It was clearly a chilling and frightening experience for both women.”
He noted that the assaults happened 14 months apart — one in December 2009, the other in February 2011 — but were remarkably similar. In both cases, Burman made an agreement to receive oral sex and then became angry and aggressive.
DNA played a major role in the case, with DNA testing of a Band-Aid left at the scene of the 2011 assault solidifying the evidence against Burman.
Police already had the licence plate number of the car used, along with a general description of the attacker, and were able to get a warrant for a sample of Burman’s DNA.
It was a match with the DNA on the Band-Aid.
After that, a condom recovered from the unsolved 2009 case was tested for DNA and matched with Burman. The condom had not been previously analyzed because no suspects had been found to test it against.
Defence lawyer Martin Allen said Burman’s offences came during a period of marital problems that have since improved, as well as substance abuse that primarily involved alcohol. He said Burman is “a responsible family man” with a common-law wife of 13 years and an eight-year-old son, as well as a job as a gas-station manager.
Burman has a previous assault charge for a 2009 bar fight, which led to a 12-month probation.
Allen called for a jail sentence of 12 to 18 months, while prosecutor Carmen Rogers said three to 41Ú2 years would be appropriate. Rogers said deterrence was a prime consideration “given the vulnerability of the victims.”
Wong also imposed a ban preventing Burman from being in an area bound by Bay, Blanshard, Yates, Store and Wharf streets.
