Convicted rapist Sofyan Boalag loses appeal to have dangerous offender status removed
A convicted serial rapist will keep his dangerous offender status after an appeal to provincial court to remove the title was denied Wednesday.
Sofyan Boalag was convicted on several charges including three counts of sexual assault with a weapon, two counts of robbery and resisting arrest in September 2016. During his trial, three females, two women and a child, testified Boalag raped them in separate incidents in 2012, often threatening to kill them if they retaliated.
Boalag was designated a dangerous offender in November 2017. The designation carries an indefinite prison sentence until the Parole Board of Canada decides he can be relased.
Boalag argued against both the dangerous offender designation and the indefinite sentence in his appeal, saying the judge in his previous trial erred in her assessment of the danger he poses to the public.
Boalag also argued evidence considered in the case wasn't relevant to the decision made by the trial judge.
According to the appeal documents, Justice Gale Welsh said she believes Boalag was rightfully designated as a dangerous offender in 2017.
"I am satisfied that applying the correct standard leads to the same conclusion, and that no substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice resulted," Justice Welsh wrote. "Further, there is no basis on which to conclude that the trial judge erred in imposing an indeterminate sentence."
An Algerian national, Boalag will be deported if he is ever released from prison.
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