Warning: This story contains disturbing details.
A B.C. man who raped a teenage girl, shared photos of her, and boasted to his friends about his crimes in a group chat, lost his bid to have the case tossed over delays and has been sentenced.
Prakash Lekhraj was convicted of one count of sexual assault and one count of making or publishing child pornography after a trial in November of last year, according to the B.C. Prosecution Service.
After his conviction, he applied to have the charges stayed on the grounds that his right to be tried within a reasonable time had been violated, filing what’s referred to as a Jordan application. Judge Ellen Gordon’s decision on that matter was posted online last week, rejecting the application and shedding some light on what Lekhraj was accused of and what he told the court at his trial.
“Prakash Lekhraj sexually assaulted the complainant, then a teenaged girl, by, among other acts, both vaginal and anal penetration. He photographed her and via a group text message bragged to his friends that, ‘She took it like a champ; in every hole,’” the decision said.
“He was convicted … after admitting to the acts complained of and advising the court that he never needs to seek the consent of a female to have sexual relations with her.”
The Supreme Court of Canada’s “ceiling” for what constitutes trial in provincial court within a reasonable time is 18 months from the date on which charges are sworn. Lekhraj’s trial was initially scheduled to start in March of 2023, well within the window.
However, on the morning she was set to testify, the victim – who was already in a state of “fragility” – was unable to go forward that day. However, she did feel confident she would be able to take the stand at a later date, saying a recent incident in her personal life had left her “overwhelmed by grief,” according to the decision.
The judge granted an adjournment on those grounds, and a series of scheduling conflicts further delayed the start of the trial until November of 2023.
The victim did ultimately testify, with Gordon noting, “it was apparent that she is a very fragile young woman.”
The trial started roughly six weeks outside of the 18-month window, and Lekhraj’s defence argued that was grounds to have the proceedings stayed, meaning no sentence would ever be handed down and the charges would be dropped.
The Crown argued that the delay was due to an exceptional circumstance, specifically due to the victim’s inability to testify on the date initially set.
The defence argues that the trial could have proceeded at that time, with the schedule rearranged so the victim could testify on another day – telling the court that the victim was merely having an “off day” or was “not in the mood.”
Gordon sided with the Crown, finding the victim’s emotional distress was “very much” an exceptional circumstance.
“Clearly, Crown counsel felt her fragility would not evaporate within 24 hours,” the judge said.
“Nothing could have been done that week. She was not going to automatically heal.”
The decision also noted that the Jordan application came five months after Lekhraj’s trial and conviction.
“The combination of his failure to bring a timely application with the unforeseen cause of the adjournment demonstrate that a remedy of a judicial stay of proceedings is not appropriate nor warranted in this case and it is denied,” the decision said.
Lekhraj was sentenced on Sept. 18, 2024, the same day the judge ruled on the Jordan application. According to the BCPS, he was handed three years in prison for sexual assault and three months for the child pornography offence.
Lekhraj has appealed his conviction.
