Sohil Bindra showed little emotion on Monday as he was sentenced by a Lethbridge judge to 12 years in prison after drugging and sexually assaulting three women between 2018 and 2020.
The 36-year-old has been in custody since March 5, 2020 and was indicted on multiple charges in May 2022.
The first incident took place in 2018 in a vehicle outside a nightclub. The second incident took place the same year at Bindra’s home after a Christmas party. The third incident took place at the victim’s house in 2020, when he dropped the woman and later entered her house to assault her.
For nearly an hour on Monday morning, Judge Jerry LaGrandeur delivered his verdict in the Lethbridge courtroom, where both Bindra and his father were present.
Two of the victims listened from afar, while another sat in the courtroom with Bindra. His identity cannot be revealed due to publication restrictions.
Bindra’s sentence is three years each for the two sexual assaults and six years for the sexual assault involving break and enter.
He will be served consecutively, while serving 18 months for each of the first two drugging convictions, and 24 months for the third, concurrently with the sexual assault charges, for a total of 12 years.
The judge found narcotics to be an aggravating factor in the sexual assaults, but also took into account Bindra’s “young age”, clean criminal record and family support.
Crown prosecutors had previously sought an 18-year sentence, with the defense offering nine years.
Bindra has been in custody for nearly three years, and so far is being given time-served credit at the value of one-and-a-half days for each day he has spent behind bars.
This means he now has 2,778 days left to serve behind bars – almost seven years and seven months.
Bindra has two more trials scheduled for later this year, one each involving a woman on charges of sexual assault and suffocation with intent.
He also faces another charge of sexual assault involving a sixth woman for an alleged incident in August 2017. A hearing in that case has not been scheduled.
The Crown did not comment on the judge’s decision because of Bindra’s other cases before the court, but commended the courage and strength of victims during this lengthy process.
-With files from Eric Bay and Taj Dhaliwal, Global News
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