Crown prosecutors are asking for a five-year sentence in the case of a Port Coquitlam mosque director found guilty of sexual assault.
Saadeldin Bahr, known in the community as Dr. Saad, "occupied a position of trust with respect to the complainant," said Crown counsel James Powrie during sentencing submissions on Friday in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster. "He was an authority figure."
Bahr was found guilty last June of sexual assault stemming from an incident that took place in 2013 at the Masjid Al-Hidayah and Islamic Cultural Centre in PoCo. He had been counselling a woman, known as "Z" in court filings, who was married and struggling with depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety. Following afternoon prayers on June 14, 2013, Bahr took the woman to a storeroom on the upper floor of the mosque, where the initial assault took place. The court heard that Bahr told the victim she had "a bad curse on you and we have to remove it."
After the initial encounter, Z went downstairs with her family, where Bahr told her to stay silent and asked the family not to speak with her. Video surveillance submitted at trial showed he returned 35 minutes later and took Z back up stairs, where the assault continued.
Powrie argued that Bahr's actions were not impulsive and that he purposely took the victim to an isolated location that he controlled.
"Dr. Bahr had a number of minutes to contemplate his actions," he said. "He had time to reflect."
The Crown noted that according to a psychological assessment submitted at sentencing, Bahr is considered a low to low-medium risk to re-offend.
But Powrie said the fact that Bahr did not accept responsibility and was not more forthcoming about the incident makes it "difficult to assess the actual risk."
At trial, Bahr told the court that semen found in the victim's vagina could have come from a toilet seat, where had had ejaculated earlier in the day. He also said the victim's DNA, which was found on his boxer shorts, may have been the result of the woman putting her hands down his pants.
"The sentence imposed must denounce this kind of conduct," Powrie said, noting that deterrence should be a prominent consideration in sentencing.
But defence lawyer Richard Fowler contested some of the Crown's assertions and said a sentence in the range of two to three years would be more appropriate. He said the fact his client has lost his standing in the community is a deterrent that should be factored into the judge's final decision on a prison term.
"Few can be said to have fallen so far," Fowler said, noting Bahr's prominence as a leader at the mosque. "Few people who come before these courts have suffered greater disgrace than Mr. Bahr has."
As an older man with health problems, Fowler said that Bahr will have a harder time in prison, which should be considered in sentencing. He said his client recently was in hospital suffering from back problems that have aggravated him since a surgery in 2001 and that he has a tumour that requires monitoring.
Bahr also has five children, two of whom are autistic and require assistance, Fowler added.
The defence lawyer described the sexual assault as a one-time incident that was completely out of character for his client, saying those who know him well found the behaviour to be "truly shocking."
Bahr has also given to his community, Fowler added, pointing to his work with the World Health Organization and with refugees overseas in the 1990s as an example of his contributions.
There is "nothing sadder than watching a good man fall," he told the court.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Crawford will give his sentence at a hearing on Friday, May 19 in New Westminster.
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
@gmckennaTC
