Calgary police failure to believe rape victim raises perceived bias concerns

A recent Calgary case–which saw a man convicted of raping a 90-year-old woman–nearly didn’t make it to courts, and it’s raising concerns on the misconceptions about sexual assaults.

Court recently heard the woman wasn’t believed when she repeatedly insisted she had been targetted by a man who raped her in her own home.

Police said it happened on Jan. 1, 2021, in her apartment along 31 Street NW near Confederation Park.

The woman told the 911 operator she had been pinned down by an intruder who had sex with her.

Upon arrival, two officers on the scene noted the woman had dementia and sent her to hospital to be treated for a possible bladder infection. A taxi took her home alone hours later.

The woman would have been deprived of a rape kit–which can offer key evidence–had her daughter not found the offender’s T-shirt in the home and called police.

Danielle Aubrey, CEO of Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse, says not being believed can be deeply hurtful to those who have been targets of sexual violence.

“It can significantly impact the amount of trauma they’ve experienced. Oftentimes, we’re dealing with the impacts of not being believed as much as we are about being targeted and sexually assaulted,” she said.

A long-time advocate for people who have experienced sexual violence, Aubrey says how responding police approached the call is concerning for others making the same claim.

She says existing biases should never make their way into police working the frontlines.

“You need to check all of your assumptions and all of your biases at the door before you go and talk to someone who is saying that they’ve been sexually assaulted,” Aubrey said.

“It is surprising to hear police officers did respond this way, especially for someone who has an incredible vulnerability with dementia.”

Duran Ross Buffalo was found guilty of both aggravated sexual assault, and break-and-enter to commit sexual assault after the jury deliberated for an hour.

After officers confirmed a sexual assault happened, Buffalo was identified in CCTV footage and arrested two weeks later.

Aubrey says stereotypes around the type of person who is targeted often lead to victim blaming, whether it’s someone walking home alone after dark, who has been out drinking or an elderly person.

“It’s a crime of opportunity often, and it’s a crime of violence and abuse of power and control, and unfortunately, anyone is vulnerable,” she said.

However, Aubrey is confident those police officers are learning from this case and reminds them that no one is immune to sexual violence.

“I hope that this is a real exception within the Calgary Police Service, my experience with them is there has been a lot of improvement in terms of how these cases are looked at and dealt with,” she said.

“Hopefully, this was a learning moment for these two individual police officers and that they’ll do much better next time.”

She says she hopes the officers apologized to the family, and think about the impact of their actions.

Several years ago, Calgary police, working with independent partner agencies, introduced a new model to ensure any case of sexual assault initially unfounded is revisited to ensure no case falls through the cracks.

In a statement to 660 NewsRadio, police say they work closely with partner agencies during this process to address issues to ensure that “we continue building trust with victims in Calgary and improving our sexual assault investigations.”

Buffalo is awaiting sentencing for the crime.