Warning: This story contains graphic details related to sexual assault
A 23-year-old marine technician at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt has been sentenced to more than three years in prison plus 20 years on Canada’s sex offender registry for violently sexually assaulting a woman at his dorm on the base in 2022.
Hayden Chokrev-Evans, who was a non-commissioned member of the base, was convicted of committing sexual assault while choking, suffocating or strangling after a five-day trial, and was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for the crimes in B.C. Supreme Court on May 21, 2024.
The assault occurred in October 2022 after Chokrev-Evans met the victim, whose identity is protected under a publication ban, on a dating app.
The pair met in Nanaimo on Oct. 11 and visited a park and mall, after which the victim agreed to meet Chokrev-Evans in Victoria the next weekend.
The victim arrived at CFB Esquimalt on Oct. 15, and the pair watched TV in Chokrev-Evans’ dorm room in the afternoon. After that, Chokrev-Evans said he was going to the gym.
The victim remained in the room and when Chokrev-Evans returned he immediately began assaulting her, including forcing his penis into her mouth and vagina, hitting her in the head and ears, choking her, smothering her with a pillow, and bashing her head against a wall.
She testified that her vision was “black and blurry” and that several times she felt like she was losing consciousness.
After the assault, she remained in Chokrev-Evans’ room, saying she was afraid of him, and only left the next morning after he had left the room first.
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Aftermath
Soon after, the judge said two more “disturbing events” occurred, with the first being a message from Chokrev-Evans saying he had showed a picture of her to a friend, adding “It sucks u left my buddy wanted to hit it” – and another message that referred to an article in which a woman was stabbed and strangled during a Tinder date.
“She interpreted this to be a threat as they had met on Tinder. Mr. Chokrev-Evans agrees that he sent the article, but testified that he did so since he thought it was humorous,” said Justice Carla Forth.
“There was nothing humorous about the article.”
Following the assault, the victim said she had bruising on her neck and forearm, a lump on the back of her head, and for about a week and a half she had difficulty speaking, breathing and swallowing.
“She testified that the bruising on her neck was so visible that she used concealer to try and hide it,” wrote Forth. “At work, she was crying, and was told to go to the hospital.”
She went that day, Oct. 17, 2022 and a rape kit was performed, and she reported what happened to police.
Sentencing
At the sentencing hearing last week, the Crown read a victim impact statement written by the woman, that outlined how she was traumatized by the event, had to take time off work, became “depressed, felt isolated, and felt disgusted every time she looked in the mirror,” and that she now meets with a counsellor on a bi-weekly basis.
She added that she began self-harming after the assault and now takes medication.
“She struggles with trust issues. She continues to be fearful of being alone at night,” said Forth.
Chokrev-Evans, meanwhile, has not expressed any remorse, and when asked what he would do to prevent something like this from happening in the future, he replied that he would “stop having sexual interactions with people that he is not attracted to.”
“I am concerned that Mr. Chokrev-Evans has little prospect of rehabilitation as he has shown a total lack of understanding of the impact or seriousness of his behavior,” said Forth.
“He continues to maintain that he did nothing wrong and has, in his words, ‘no feelings,’ for what happened,” added Forth. “He does not believe he needs any counselling.”
Chokrev-Evans was ultimately sentenced to three years and eight months in prison, minus 138 days for time served. He also faces several ancillary orders, including 20 years on the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and he’s banned from owning guns for life. He’s also banned from having any contact with the victim.
“I hope that, with the sentencing of the offender today, [the victim] can continue on her path to recovery,” said Forth. “She is not responsible in any way for what Mr. Chokrev-Evans did to her. She deserved to be treated with respect and dignity.”
Criminal lawyer Michael Mulligan said Chokrev-Evans’ response in court likely played a role in his sentencing.
“That would have been during the course of a pre-sentence report that that he made those troubling remarks,” he said. “It’s an example of what people say and do after an event can have an effect on sentencing.”
Chokrev-Evans was taken into custody on Feb. 21. On Thursday, the Department of National Defence told CHEK News he was no longer a member of the Canadian Armed Forces as of May 15.
“The reason for the release of a CAF member is personal information protected under the Privacy Act,” said a DND spokesperson.
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