Man gets prison for sex assault on woman he met on dating site
Man to face deportation after serving term for attack on woman he met online
Noting he has no previous criminal record and is an otherwise “productive, self-sufficient member of society,” a Regina Court of Queen’s Bench judge opted to impose a three-year sentence in the case of a man found guilty of a serious sexual assault against a woman he met through the Plenty of Fish dating site.
Gioulian Nikdima, 50, attended court with two supporters on Wednesday but left in the custody of deputy sheriffs after the sentence was pronounced. He was found guilty in September of sexual assault causing bodily harm.
Based on current Saskatchewan case law pertaining to “major sexual assault,” three years is considered the starting point. Defence lawyers Barry Nychuk and Nicolas Brown requested three years as a sentence; Crown prosecutor Randene Zielke asked for five.
The 49-year-old victim of the assault, present for the decision, left the courtroom in tears afterward. She did not wish to comment.
In asking for the longer sentence, Zielke pointed to the severity of the complainant’s injuries and the lack of remorse shown by Nikdima. Nurses who specialize in sex assault cases testified at the trial they had rarely seen anything as bad as the tearing the woman suffered to her anus.
The woman testified she met Nikdima through the dating site and that they messaged each other for a few days before deciding to meet in person at a coffee shop in March 2016. The date eventually led them to a quiet rural road near the city where the woman testified Nikdima raped her.
While the woman said she didn’t consent to any of the various sexual acts engaged in that day, Justice Fred Kovach said he couldn’t find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that most of the acts were non-consensual. The nature of the injuries to the woman’s anus, however, persuaded Kovach the anal sex that occurred clearly constituted a sexual assault.
Nikdima took a different view, telling the court the woman not only enjoyed the sex but initiated it. He maintained that position during sentencing submissions, taking advantage of the opportunity to once again proclaim his innocence.
“My only mistake on this case was meeting that woman,” he told the court earlier this month.
In sentencing, Kovach said he’d found the assault occurred — as suggested by the defence during sentencing arguments — as part of an “escalation” of sexual activity. As such, the judge found it was less serious than if Nikdima had restrained the woman or used other tactics, such as physical assault, to facilitate a sexual assault.
Kovach acknowledged the trauma the woman has endured as a result, having been left with lasting psychological and emotional injuries she continues to try to overcome.
But Kovach also pointed out the fallout Nikdima himself will suffer. Barring a successful appeal, Nikdima will face deportation once released from custody. Originally from Albania, he most recently lived and worked in Greece before moving to Canada for work in 2013. His then-wife and adult son joined him here, and court heard their status in Canada is dependent on his.
Court heard the son has already moved back to Greece. Nikdima’s now-former spouse attended court to support him and, like Nikdima, adamantly denied his guilt.
In addition to the jail term, Nikdima must supply a DNA sample and is subject to both a weapons prohibition and a 20-year placement on the national sex-offender registry.