Man who immigrated to Canada fled the country one day after he was convicted of sex assault
An Indian-born man who “absconded” from Canada the day after an Ontario jury convicted him of sexual assault and extortion has been sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison.
The offender, identified only as H.B. in a recent decision from Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice, was in an intimate partner relationship with his victim, who is described as a “new Canadian” who is also from India.
“The first assault occurred at the victim’s home which should have been a place of safety,” wrote Justice Stephen T. Bale.
“Some of the assaults were brutal, painful and degrading — when the offender was angry, he would punish the victim sexually.”
H.B. “used the threat of exposure of intimate photos to engage her in sex against her will; and as a new Canadian, the victim was vulnerable — the offender told her that no one would believe her, that the authorities would not help her, and that he knew how the Canadian legal system worked and that he would not be held responsible,” said the judge.
H.B. crossed into the U.S. at Highgate Springs, Vermont, last Halloween, said the April 8 decision.
On Nov. 2, “he flew from Boston to Zurich, Switzerland. He was then booked on a flight from Abu Dhabi to Boston” on Nov. 18, “but failed to show for the flight,” said the judge.
“Based on these facts, Crown counsel argued that it was clear that the offender had absconded and requested that I proceed with the sentence hearing in his absence. I agreed.”
H.B.’s “was not a simple case of an offender failing to appear for a sentence hearing,” Bale said. “The trial concluded at 6:18 p.m. on October 30, 2025, and at some point the following day, the offender left the country.”
The court heard H.B., who is 31, came to Canada seven years ago as a post-graduate student. At the time of his trial, he was working as a software developer for a Montreal-based company.
“The victim came to Canada from India in 2022. She lived with her brother and sister-in-law and found employment in the information technology sector. She was in her mid-thirties and, in her words, ‘felt the biological clock ticking,’” said the decision.
“She wished to meet a man, settle down, get married and have children. For this reason, she joined Bumble, a mobile app for online dating and social networking.”
H.B. and the woman met on Bumble in December 2022.
“They were of the same religion and from the same state in India. They spoke on the phone for more than an hour and a half. They decided to meet in person. It seemed to the victim that their interests were aligned.”
Their first date took place on Dec. 7, 2022.
On Feb.11, 2023, “at the victim’s home, the offender took two photographs of the victim — one with her bra on and one showing her bare breasts. She said that when she saw that her face was in the photos, she asked him to delete them, but he did not,” said the decision.
“The offender began asking the victim for sex. She told him that she was not ready — sometimes he would be okay with that but sometimes he would get angry. She began to think that he was looking for sex only, and told him that if that was the case, she was not the right girl for him. She wanted to leave vaginal intercourse until marriage.”
During a Feb. 14, 2022 visit, “he took her phone, and saw that she had been talking to other people on Bumble. He then became angry and said that she didn’t deserve him and would punish her, and commanded her to remove her clothes,” said the decision.
“She was shaking and did so because she was scared. He pushed her onto the bed and put his penis in her vagina. She said that it was painful and that she was screaming, asking him to stop. He did.”
He later “told her that he had taken her virginity and that no man on this earth would accept her, because they would know she was not pure. He said that he would tell her parents that she was a slut and had used him. He said that she would not be able to tell anyone what had happened because no one would believe her. He said that if she was not intimate with him, he would show the nude photos to her family. He said if she was nice and obeyed him, he would not say anything to anyone, but if she made him angry ‘this’ would happen — this was how he relieved his anger. She started shaking because if she told her family how it had happened and they didn’t believe her, she would lose them and be alone with nowhere to go. She thought she should stay with him to save her family from shame.”
After that, H.B. “continued to have vaginal intercourse with the victim,” said the decision. “There were approximately 30 assaults — three times each time she went to his apartment. She didn’t want the intercourse — she went along with it out of fear. Many of the assaults were brutal and painful.”
A psychiatric report on H.B. prepared for the sentencing hearing “says that as a result of the criminal charges against him (which he denied), the offender suffers from (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression, and that he ‘should be given a chance to get treatment for his mental illness, and proper rehabilitation for the future,’” said the decision.
The Crown argued H.B. should get eight years in prison. H.B. fired his lawyer before the sentencing hearing.
His victim “says that the assaults have left a permanent scar of deep-seated self-disgust. She says that she could feel the hatred in the offender’s actions and felt that sex was a weapon used against her. She says that he met her pain and guilt with mocking laughter and blame. She was made to feel that her truth was worthless, and that seeking justice would be futile, leaving her in a paralyzing fear of failure.”
She’s been left with “the crushing weight of self-doubt,” said the decision. “The agonizing belief that she is unwise and too naïve to live in this world. She has been left with a deep sense of shame.”
While the jury convicted H.B. of extortion, the Crown asked that charge be stayed.
The victim “says that the offender’s threats to expose the intimate photos of her, and to destroy her and her family were terrorizing, leading her to believe that suicide was the only escape. She only refrained because she knew her family would be devastated,” said the decision.
“The shame and fear of the photos being made public were so overwhelming that she deleted all her social media accounts. She remains afraid that the offender will share the photos with her friends or family.”
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