Dangerous offender status sought for serial rapist

Serial rapist Charles Henry Desjarlais will undergo a psychiatric assessment to determine if he qualifies for a dangerous offender label.

Crown prosecutor Karuna Ramakrishnan on Friday asked for the assessment, which could result in an application for Desjarlais to be locked up indefinitely.

Ramakrishnan sought the assessment after provincial court Judge John Bascom denied her application to adjourn the Crown’s request to March.

Ramakrishnan had sought a delay so a doctor who performed a pre-sentencing assessment on Desjarlais over a previous sexual assault, who isn’t available for much of the next two months, could prepare the report.

But defence counsel Mitch Stephensen said his client was opposed to delaying being tested by staff at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre (SAFPC).

“Mr. Desjarlais has been co-operative all along with respect to the anticipated dangerous offender application, but he opposes this delay,” Stephensen told Bascom.

The lawyer said delaying his client’s assessment so a particular psychiatrist could handle the case amounted to “doctor shopping” by the Crown.

But Ramakrishnan said the prosecution was not attempting to get Desjarlais to see a particular doctor, and was only trying to save resources at SAFPC.

“This is not doctor shopping by the Crown, this is a request from the head of SAFPC,” she said.

“The Crown is attempting to make the best use of resources,” the prosecutor said.

Desjarlais pleaded guilty in November to a charge of sexual assault with a weapon in connection with an attack two decades ago on a Calgary woman.

The 19-year-old woman was attacked while walking to an LRT station on her way to work around 5:15 a.m. on Aug. 14, 1997.

The crime went unsolved until Desjarlais, who was serving a sentence in Bowden Institution for another rape, contacted Mounties to confess about a sexual assault he committed in Calgary.

Desjarlais remains in custody pending resolution of his case.