Mohammad Kouman, 26, sexually assaulted a severely intoxicated 15-year-old girl and recorded it.
Warning: Story contains descriptions of sexual assault
A Saskatoon judge says Mohammad Kouman took advantage of a vulnerable 15-year-old girl when he picked her up, bought alcohol for her and his young friend, encouraged them to drink while he stayed sober and then recorded himself and his friend having sex with her while she was heavily intoxicated.
He then left the girl passed out near the riverbank and went for breakfast.
“This offence would not have happened but for Mr. Kouman. His conduct before, during and after the sexual assault was callous and demonstrated no regard for the seriousness of his actions or for the harm he caused his victim,” King’s Bench Justice Natasha Crooks said during her sentencing decision on Thursday.
“The evidence speaks to an exceptionally high level of moral blameworthiness.”
Both charges carry mandatory minimum sentences of five years and one year, respectively. Defence lawyer Jordan Durant argued for the mandatory minimum six-year sentence.
Crooks ruled that considering all the aggravating factors, a sentence of eight years and five months — sought by the Crown — was appropriate. With enhanced remand credit, he has less than four years left to serve.
Kouman, who was 23 at the time, and his 17-year-old friend picked the girl up around midnight on June 7, 2021. Court heard she knew the teen, but not Kouman.
However, her rape was recorded on a series of Snapchat videos that were turned over to police; they show the girl’s level of incoherence, Crooks said.
The girl was discovered around 5 a.m., unconscious, on a walking path near the Broadway Bridge. It was raining and she was partially clothed.
She was hospitalized in intensive care and intubated due to breathing problems, seizures from a pre-existing medical condition and hypothermia, court heard.
Her blood-alcohol level was .36 — a near-fatal level.
A sexual assault kit found three sources of male DNA, but experts said it was more likely two male DNA sources and a mutation. There was not enough genetic material to make a meaningful comparison with Kouman’s DNA.
Crooks found Kouman was a “co-perpetrator” in the assault, but also encouraged his friend to sexually assault the girl while recording it.
“His words on the videos and the tone in which he said them were goading, taunting and teasing toward (the friend),” she said.
Durant told court that Kouman and his family came to Canada from Syria, having become refugees after Kouman was injured in a missile strike when he was 11 years old. This experience affected his maturity and created challenges with substance use, education and work, Durant said.
“Although his personal circumstances evoke sympathy, they do not lessen his moral blameworthiness,” Crooks ruled.
Victim impact statements outline how the girl’s mental health issues and medical conditions have worsened since the offence as her family continues to help her recover.
It’s also aggravating that there a record of her abuse was shared online to some extent, Crooks noted.
She said Kouman was fully aware of the implications of having sex with an underage girl. He testified that he asked his young friend to “find chicks for them,” adding they couldn’t be too young or he would be “charged.”
Kouman will be a registered sex offender for 20 years. For five years after his release, he cannot work or volunteer with children or have any contact with minors unless supervised by a court-approved person or with special permission.
The Saskatoon Sexual Assault and Information Centre’s Crisis Line can be reached at 306-244-2224.
The Saskatoon Star Phoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.