A convicted rapist had some advice for one of the women he assaulted in a York University dormitory during Frosh Week.
“Now maybe she will know to keep her doors locked,” Daniel Katsnelson said in a statement ready Friday in court.
He said he “hoped the victim would be able to take away something positive from this,” Crown attorney Andrew Locke quoted Katsnelson in reading from a pre-sentencing report.
The 20-year-old victim struggled with her emotions in court as she recalled losing her virginity to the rapist.
“I lost a big part of myself ... I lost my virginity. I felt like damaged goods,” said the pony-tailed woman, who exhaled deeply while reading her victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing.
“I am no longer the girl I was,” she told Justice Ian MacDonnell. He will pass sentence on April 14.
She was a 17-year-old on Sept. 6, 2007, when Katsnelson, a York University graduate, raped her and another first-year student during a two-hour sex rampage where he and a pal, Justin Connort, broke into several girls’ rooms in the university’s dormitory.
Both victims were forced to take medication for a host of STDs, including HIV, as Katsnelson wore no condoms during the rapes, court heard.
The now 27-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault for the Sept. 6, 2007 invasion of the Vanier Residence dormitory during Frosh Week, which is celebrated by widespread drinking and partying.
Crown attorney Locke said the prosecution is seeking at least 10 years imprisonment for Katsnelson. He admitted in January that he and another grad prowled from floor to floor, entering five unlocked rooms.
His lawyer Mary Cremer asked for a three- to five-year prison sentence for her client. He had no prior criminal record and an outstanding work and academic record. He also had started several companies, one while on bail.
“I assure I’ll never do anything like this again. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me,” said Katsnelson as he apologized in court to his victims Friday.
“I made a terrible mistake. I am not a violent person.”
Both men had been drinking and entered the building under the guise of helping a drunk pal into his room, court heard.
The other rape victim, now 21, revealed in her emotional impact statement that “constant nightmares and flashbacks” haunt her. The attack “has given me a life sentence” of suffering, she said in court Friday.
The rape shattered “my hopes and dreams of being a dancer,” she said.
Connort pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault — which wasn’t a rape — in 2008 and was sentenced to three years in prison.
A 20-year-old woman fought back tears on the witness stand as she recalled losing her virginity to a rapist who terrorized York University’s dormitory during Frosh Week.
“I lost a big part of myself...I lost my virginity. I felt like damaged goods,” said the woman in reading her victim impact statement during sentencing hearing for Daniel Katsnelson.
“I am no longer the girl I was," she told Justice Ian MacDonnell. "I had to take medications for sexually transmitted diseases, the biggest were HIV drugs, which caused me constant nausea and fatigue.”
She was a 17-year-old on Sept. 6, 2007, when Katsnelson, a York University graduate, raped her and another first-year student during a two-hour sex rampage where he and a pal broke into several girls’ rooms in the university’s dormitory.
The now 27-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault for the invasion of the Vanier Residence dormitory during Frosh Week — often marked by widespread drinking and partying.
Crown attorney Andrew Locke said the prosecution is seeking at least 10 years imprisonment for Katsnelson. He admitted in January that he and another grad prowled from floor to floor, entering five unlocked rooms. Katsnelson violated two girls.
Both men had been drinking and entered the building under the guise of helping an intoxicated friend into his room, court heard.
The other rape victim, now 21, revealed in her emotional impact statement that she still suffers from “constant nightmares and flashbacks” from the attack that “has given me a life sentence” of suffering.
“My hopes and dreams of being a dancer have been taken away from me,” she said. “I can’t watch movies with scenes of nudity or sexuality.”
Court heard that Katsnelson and long-time friend Justin Connort startled a sleeping 17-year-old as she slept in her room shortly after 2:45 a.m.
One victim said said her roommate left the door unlocked and she initially thought the assailants were drunken, lost students who posed no threat.
Katsnelson’s semen was identified from the victim’s underwear and her bed sheets, court heard.
Connort pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault - which wasn’t a rape - in 2008 and was sentenced to three years in prison.
I think that this man did a horrible thing but feel he should be sentenced to 2 years less a day prison and 2 years probation, because he is remorseful, has a good academic and work record and no prior criminal record. I feel confident that he would never do something like this ever again and dont believe he is a high risk offender or dangerous and should therefore, not be sentenced to a harsh prison sentence.
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