Mike on Crime

THE CANADIAN PRESS
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — A man who kissed a woman’s breast on a Memorial University elevator has pleaded guilty to sexual assault.
Farhood Azarsina, 25, of Iran entered the plea Monday in provincial court.
He will be sentenced Thursday.
Azarsina, a PhD student in engineering, admitted kissing the top of the woman’s breast while the two were on an elevator at the St. John’s school on Sept. 27.
He apologized on the stand, explaining he acted on impulse.
Azarsina said he didn’t realize the seriousness of the offence in this country.
“For sure, it was a terrible thing to do,” Azarsina said in court.
“Back home, if you do this, they slap you. And if the woman calls the police, the police slap you.”
Azarsina has been banned from the university campus since the incident.
“Now I understand,” he said. “I know I’m not allowed to touch. It was just a mistake.”
Azarsina was arrested shortly after the assault and taken to Royal Newfoundland Constabulary headquarters for questioning.
Videotape of that session was played in court.
In it, Azarsina attempts to explain how he could commit such an offence. He said the woman was wearing a blouse, with cleavage showing.
“I would just say it’s tempting,” he said. “It happens everywhere. Usually, I’m so good, I can control it. I do most of the time.”
As the tape was playing, the victim rushed out of the courtroom, noticeably upset. The 20-year-old returned later to read her victim-impact statement, describing the negative effect the incident has had on her life.
“It wasn’t supposed to be a day I should remember. Instead, it was a day I’ll never forget,” she said, adding it has turned her into a fearful person who is unable to sleep or concentrate.
“I’m struggling to retain some kind of normalcy in my life.”
Azarsina said he has also suffered.
He said he was verbally and physically harassed by other prisoners during the three weeks he spent in jail.
“They called me ‘camel-back rider’ and ‘Osama bin Laden,’ said Azarsina, who claimed he was assaulted twice.
“At night, it was bad.”
Azarsina was freed once he came up with the $5,000 bail.
Defence lawyer Brian Wentzel asked Judge David Orr to consider a conditional discharge because the crime was at the “low end of the scale.”
“There was a moment of weakness,” Wentzel said. “It was bad judgment.”
(St. John’s Telegram)