Landlord gets two years in jail for sexually assaulting tenant

A man who sexually assaulted a woman in an apartment in downtown Vancouver that he had rented to her has been sentenced to two years less a day in jail.

Jorge Alim Vega Ramirez, 35, rented the one-bedroom apartment on West Georgia Street out to the victim, an ESL student from Japan, in February 2013.

In the early morning hours of May 5, 2013, the victim, who cannot be identified due to a publication ban, was in her bedroom after an evening out socializing and drinking.

As she lay asleep in bed, Vega Ramirez entered her room and had non-consensual sexual intercourse with her. When she realized what was occurring, she told him to stop and he did stop and left the room.

Later, as she left the apartment, the accused spoke to her at the door, telling her he liked her “too much” and that he was sorry for what had happened.

At trial, Vega Ramirez testified that the sex was consensual and that she was fully awake.

He claimed that at a minimum, he had an honest but mistaken belief that she had consented and that he had taken reasonable steps to ascertain that she was willing.

But in June 2017, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jim Williams rejected his claims and convicted Vega Ramirez of sexual assault.

“The moral blameworthiness of the offender in this matter is high,” the judge said as he imposed sentence Tuesday.

“He was sober and aware of his actions. It was a deliberate act and profoundly violated the victim.”

The judge found that as a landlord, the accused had breached the trust of a vulnerable individual.

“In the present case, (the victim) was in the room she had rented,” said Williams.

“She had a right to expect that she would be safe there, safe from the predations of her landlord. That’s important because she was vulnerable there.”

In a statement to the court, the victim said that the attack had caused her significant emotional stress.

Following the sex assault, she moved to a transition home, had difficulty explaining the circumstances of the attack to her parents and has since required ongoing counselling.

Vega Ramirez is a Mexican citizen who came to Canada nine years ago after graduating from high school and attending university in Mexico.

He obtained a business management diploma from a college in Canada. He then completed a twoyear tourism and management program at Capilano University.

Vega Ramirez obtained a permit to work in Canada and for four years before the sex assault, he managed a restaurant in Vancouver.

Since his conviction he’s lost his job and faces deportation to Mexico after serving out his sentence.

The judge noted that the accused’s attitude toward the offence was somewhat “ambiguous” and while his lawyer argued he was remorseful, the accused’s own comments to the court were “largely” focused on the effect of the events on himself.