Charles Desjarlais sentenced for 1995 sexual assault on teen
Cold case was cracked with the help of DNA evidence
A Calgary man has been sentenced to five years in prison in a decades old sexual assault case.
Charles Henry Desjarlais was arrested last fall when DNA evidence linked him to the assault of a 16-year-old girl who was on her way home from school in 1995.
He pleaded guilty shortly after being arrested.
Desjarlais told the judge he was sorry for what he did and that he's not the same person he was 20 years ago.
In a written statement submitted during the trial, the victim said there were still days she was afraid to leave her house.
"Imagine being afraid to leave your house," she said in her victim impact statement. "Now imagine living this way for years. Twenty-one years later, I still think twice before heading to the store at night, because of a fear that something could happen."
The judge's sentence includes credit for time served, which means Desjarlais will spend three-and-a-half more years in prison.
With files from Allison Dempster