'Rounder' from Ontario raped Calgary woman in front of husband in 1995, accused testifies

A "rounder" from Ontario named Rob repeatedly raped a Calgary woman in her home — including in front of her bound husband — more than two decades ago, Jack Kramer testified in his own defence at his sexual assault trial on Wednesday.

Police didn't arrest Kramer, 53, for the 1995 incident until 2014. He faces numerous charges including sexual assault with a weapon and forcible confinement in connection with the attack.

In July 1995, a woman woke up in the middle of the night to find a masked man standing over her and her husband with a knife in their home on the 1300 block of 69th Street S.W. The culprit tied up the husband in another room, then demanded money from the woman before raping her several times — including once in front of her husband.

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Under questioning by his lawyer Allan Fay, Kramer admitted to being at the home that night but said it was simply to do a break-and-enter and that he was "confident" nobody was in the house.

The night of July 11, 1995, began when Kramer went to drink at the Stampede by himself, where he says he met two strangers in the Nashville North tent.

"They were rounder type guys, sort of like me" said Kramer, using slang for habitual criminals.

The trio drank together, eventually moving to Kramer's apartment where they decided to do a "score," which the accused described to Provincial Court Judge Allan Fradsham as a break and enter — a crime he had committed numerous times before, according to his criminal record.

"Nothing too serious, just something to get more booze and money," said Kramer. "I knew of an area of secluded acreage houses."

Standing guard

The victim lived on an acreage on the southwest edge of the city with her common-law husband, daughters and stepson.

Kramer testified that he had been there previously to do lawn work and told the other two he would not go in the home because he had a connection to it and was worried that could lead police to him.

So, it was his role to "keep six" out front, watching for anyone who might foil their plan.

After a short time, Kramer said one of the men, named Rob, came to the balcony door and was wearing a nylon over his face. Earlier in the trial the victim told Fradsham her attacker's face was squished by a stocking that hid his identity.

Kramer testified that everything seemed to be going as planned and said he still had no reason to believe anyone was inside the home.

"Now I'm thinking everything's great.... I was even more at ease," he said.

'I've got to get out of there'

Kramer said he started nodding off after that and eventually passed out. When he woke up, he said he saw Rob with a woman near side of the house. Rob escorted the woman back in the home, according to Kramer's testimony.

"I'm freaking out," he said. "I've got to get out of there."

But Kramer didn't leave, even though he'd driven everyone to the home in his girlfriend's brown Chevette. Kramer said the two others he'd met that night knew where he lived and he worried they were dangerous.

Soon after, Rob and his friend ran out of the home and the three took off. Kramer said he felt relief when, at a red light, the pair got out of the car and walked away.

Though Kramer said that he met the two accomplices that night at the Stampede, his former girlfriend testified earlier in the trial that he told her that he committed the break-in with two co-workers.

It was on a radio newscast the next day that Kramer says he heard for the first time that a sexual assault took place at the home the three broke into.

"I couldn't believe it," said Kramer. "Nothing made sense."

DNA cracks the case

Arrested in the days after the attack, Kramer was released when he told police the story of his new friends from Nashville North and said he would help investigators find Rob and his friend. He also consented to giving officers DNA samples and allowed them to search his apartment.

Kramer said he took police to Nashville North twice looking for the two and over the coming months would look at mug shots trying to identify the missing men. He even worked with a sketch artist to come up with composite drawings of them.

In the 19 years between the crime and Kramer's ultimate arrest, he said he was in and out of jail for thefts and more break-and-enters.

Nearly two decades after the attack, RCMP found Kramer's DNA on duct tape used to bind the woman's husband in the couple's home.

Kramer testified that the duct tape was given to him by a police detective who helped him move. That detective had earlier arranged for Kramer to testify against former friends with whom he'd committed break-and-enters before the sexual assault at the acreage.

Fay finished questioning Kramer on Wednesday morning. Prosecutors Rosalind Greenwood and Gord Haight will cross-examine him on Thursday.

It's unclear if Fay will call more witnesses before the trial moves onto final arguments.

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