Vancouver police arrest New Zealand man in brutal assault

VANCOUVER — Vancouver police have arrested a 39-yearold illegal immigrant from New Zealand in connection with what they are describing as a “horrific case of kidnapping” in which a 42-year-old woman was allegedly dragged behind a moving van while attempting to escape.

Robert James Farley, a handyman who had been living illegally in Canada for about two years, has been charged with aggravated sexual assault causing bodily harm, assault, kidnapping, overcoming resistance by choking to commit a sexual assault, overcoming resistance by choking to commit a kidnapping, administering a noxious substance and uttering threats.

Police praised the victim for her courage in coming forward with the complaint and for working with investigators on the case.

Farley was initially arrested by Vancouver police on behalf of the Canadian Border Services Agency Mar. 9 and placed in custody. On Thursday, partly as a result of additional evidence from a second appeal from police to the public for information, Farley was arrested and charged with the Vancouver kidnapping Mar. 4 that captured headlines as it involved the lurid scene of a woman being dragged behind a van.

Police allege that the victim was picked up in the downtown east side and driven to a secluded area where she was beaten and tied up in the van. About 30 minutes later, police received several 911 calls from witnesses who saw the woman being dragged.

Police say she had managed to partially free herself and fearing for her life, jumped from the van while it was in motion. She spent several days in hospital where she was treated for head injuries and serious cuts.

Angela McDougal, who works for battered women support services in the downtown eastside, said the arrest is a groundbreaking sign that police are finally showing they care about violence against women in the area.

The arrest “is particularly important for us,” she said at a news conference Friday morning. “There is a sense that the downtown east side is a place where men can come and do violence against women with impunity.”

Thanks to over 22 years of hard work, that is finally changing, she said.