Blind man sentenced to 8 years in cold case sexual assault

CALGARY- The man who admitted to sexually assaulting a Calgary woman 24 years ago has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Last week, 56-year-old Gerald Raymond Clark pleaded guilty to the 1990 attack. He admitted to breaking into the victim’s home while she slept, binding her with duct tape and sexually assaulting her.

While the case went cold for over two decades, DNA eventually linked Clark to the crime.

“That DNA links that offender to the case, there is no doubt. So if you wear a mask, you cant hide who you are,” says Det. Ren Lafreniere from the Calgary Police Service. “It’s a bonus for us now, going through these cold cases and finding all that DNA just sitting on a shelf just waiting to be identified.”

The Crown had asked for an eight year prison term, which the judge agreed with.

Clark had two previous convictions for sexual assault.