Welcome to my Crime and Justice blog! I am a 19 year old criminal justice student at the University of Winnipeg. I advocate for prisoners' rights, human rights, equality and criminal justice/prison system reforms.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Brutal attack on homeless women may lead to dangerous offender designation



- An Edmonton man who brutally attacked two homeless women — raping one of them at knifepoint —now faces being designated a dangerous offender.
- Lawrence Dominique, 61, pleaded guilty Monday to sexual assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon and two counts of uttering death threats.
- Crown prosecutor Avril Herron called the April 19, 2008, attacks at a makeshift shelter, “a brutal offence on two vulnerable women.”
- Herron cited Dominique’s rap sheet — which dates back 40 years and contains multiple convictions for crimes of violence — and said the Crown intends to proceed with a dangerous offender application.
- Dominique was then ordered to undergo a 60-day psychiatric evaluation at Alberta Hospital.
- Court heard the two victims were sleeping under a tarp when Dominique climbed into bed with one of them and put a knife to her throat, saying: “I just got a new knife I want to try out, do you want to live or do you want to die?”
- The second woman asked her friend if she was OK and Dominique attacked her, putting his knife by her throat.
- The first woman then ran off to the Hope Mission to get help and the remaining one kicked Dominique.
- He responded by kicking her in the head several times, putting his knife to her throat and threatening to kill her.
- He then said: “All you women don’t deserve to live — I’m gonna kill you all.”
- Dominique then ripped off the woman’s pants and began raping her with his knife pressed to her neck.
- Two people then arrived and pulled off the tarp and the woman was able to escape. A nearby security guard responded and handcuffed Dominique until police came.
- Dominique is slated to be back in court on April 30.
- If designated a dangerous offender, Dominique would receive an indeterminate prison sentence, meaning that he would be held in prison until it was deemed that he no longer presented a risk to society and to the safety of the public. 

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