B.C. man convicted after victim gathered his DNA

Accused declared guilty of kidnapping and raping girl, 11, who pocketed his cigarette butt after he drugged and attacked her

ROD MICKLEBURGH
February 9, 2008
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080209.BCVERNON09/TPStory/National

VANCOUVER -- An inveterate watcher of the hit television series CSI, the 11-year-old victim knew all about the importance of DNA.

So, despite the terrible ordeal she had just been through, she didn't hesitate. When the man who had kidnapped and repeatedly raped her briefly fell asleep, the young girl picked up one of his cigarette butts and placed it in her pocket.

Not only that, aware of how easily evidence can be contaminated, she took care to pick it up with some leaves in her hand, ensuring that only her assailant's DNA would be present on the cigarette.

Yesterday, Crown prosecutor Howard Pontious paid tribute to the girl's remarkable presence of mind, after a judge in Vernon, B.C., convicted Paul Lepage of kidnapping, sexual assault and administering a drug to commit an indictable offence.

"She's quite the kid," Mr. Pontious said. "To have been able to collect evidence in those circumstances is nothing short of phenomenal."

DNA from the cigarette butt was one of two critical pieces of forensic evidence that pointed to Mr. Lepage's guilt, the prosecutor said.

The girl's brazen abduction 21 months ago in the small Okanagan town of Armstrong caused an uproar in the community and across the country, as she disappeared while riding her scooter home from a local video store.

Despite a frantic search by police and scores of volunteers, the victim was not found for 36 hours. Mr. Lepage, a 55-year-old transient with a substantial criminal record, was quickly arrested and charged the next day.

His 13-day trial included emotional testimony from the victim, who gave her evidence from a separate room. She broke down in tears several times under cross-examination from a lawyer appointed by the court to question the girl on behalf of Mr. Lepage, who defended himself for most of the trial.

Asked why she didn't try to scream or run away from her kidnapper when she had a chance, the girl replied that she was terrified. "I didn't want anything to happen to me," she said.

Mr. Lepage made off with the girl after he asked her to help him find a mouse. He injected her with a syringe and forced her to smoke a pipe, before raping her four times in the fields and woods behind the town's well-known cheese factory.

Finally, he let her go. She was found a short time later.

In addition to handing over the telltale cigarette butt, the victim provided an amazingly detailed and accurate description of her attacker to police, Mr. Pontious said.

"She described his watch better than I can describe my own watch. She said he wore a green shirt with black sleeves and even remembered the words on it: 'Hey, don't give up.' She said he wore a Canucks hat and described its colours," the prosecutor recounted.

"She was right about everything. Her memory was fantastic. ... She was better able to present the evidence than a professional witness."

The girl, now 13, sat in the courtroom with her mother and father to hear Mr. Justice Peter Rogers' verdict.

"They were quite happy. They came up and gave me a hug," Mr. Pontious said. "This was a very stressful case. Any time you have a child snatched right off the streets of a small community where everyone knows each other, it's tough."

People in Armstrong were shocked by what happened, he said.

A date for Mr. Lepage's sentencing will be set next week. Mr. Pontious said he may ask for him to be declared a dangerous offender.

I had a rape victim who left her earring and a Kleenex at the scene of the rape to prove she'd been there. She said she learned it from a Lifetime channel movie!

When attacks on eyewitness accuracy are increasing, this is a wonderful account of just how accurate eyewitnesses can be. The victim's recall was right on.

JAS