Desi Today Magazine
Moazzam Tariq of Brampton, convicted of sexual assault, flees to Pakistan before sentencing | Indo-Canadian Voice Newspaper
Moazzam Tariq with victim
(surveillance video stills)
MOAZZAM Tariq, 29, of Brampton, who was convicted in October of sexually assaulting a woman who was too intoxicated to have the ability to consent to sex, fled to Pakistan before he could be sentenced. He had been on a $10,000 bail following his arrest in July 2015.
Tariq was caught on surveillance video with the 25-year-old woman as he poured vodka into her mouth in a Toronto nightclub on July 18, 2015, and then inside an elevator of a hotel.
Although Tariq had surrendered his Canadian passport, the Crown said he used another passport to travel to Pakistan.
Tariq failed to appear at his sentencing hearing on December 1. His father, who was his surety, said that he last spoke to his son on November 24, the Crown told the court. His son told him that he was on a business trip to Vancouver and would be back for his court date. According to Tariq’s bail conditions, he was to reside with his surety and observe a 10 p.m. curfew.
Tariq’s father came to court on November 24 to remove himself as surety when his son stopped returning his calls and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Ontario Court Justice Mara Greene found that Tariq had absconded to avoid being sentenced and ordered that the sentencing hearing proceed without him, the Toronto Star reported.
The Crown wants a sentence of three years in prison for Tariq. A sentencing decision is expected later this month.
CBC reported that in her victim impact statement, the woman described having drinks with friends before her memory of the night went blank. She said when she woke up, she was the most scared she had ever been in her life.
She described feeling humiliated and terrified about the possibility of sexually transmitted disease or pregnancy as a nurse examined her for evidence.
She said that when she went to work on Monday, she was a completely different person than she was on the previous Friday.
After months of guilt, shame and questions, she ended her statement with a message to her abuser: “I’ve learned I am a strong, independent woman and that even when faced with the most difficult of challenges can rise to the top. You did not break me.”
