A man who linked his early porn exposure to break-ins at three young women’s Montreal homes and the sexual assault of one was sentenced Friday to a prison term of more than seven years.
On Dec, 23, 2015, Luis Dalberto Ventura Silverio, 38, broke into the home of the first victim and ordered her to undress while he threatened her with a knife. When it became clear that he was going to rape her, she handed him a condom and requested he wear it to protect her from sexually transmitted disease. He agreed, but later removed it and assaulted her a second time.
After, he sat at the end of her bed and began to cry, saying he’d never done anything like that before and was having a difficult time at home.
Less than three weeks later, Ventura followed a woman from the métro to her home and pushed his way in. He tried to force himself on her while holding a knife but stopped and left when she cried out for help.
The following day, Jan. 14, 2016, he followed another woman from the métro, sneaking inside her home after she entered. He waited while she used her bathroom and, again holding a knife, ordered her into the bedroom. But like the day before, he left after she cried out.
He was arrested by the Montreal police two days later and, on Aug. 29, 2017, pleaded guilty to one count of breaking and entering to commit a sexual assault and two counts of breaking and entering to commit an armed assault.
Ventura testified during the sentencing stage of his case, telling Quebec Court Judge Anne-Marie Lanctôt that, while growing up in the Dominican Republic and starting at age 13, he worked at a motel where he was in charge of playing pornographic films.
“He recognized the negative impact that pornography had on his development,” Lanctôt said while reading from her decision to sentence Ventura to an overall prison term of 90 months. Ventura, now 37, moved to Canada in 2010. He resumed his frequent consumption of pornography in 2015 when the company he worked for offered him unlimited Internet access on his phone. He said he decided to pursue the three women while watching pornography on his phone during his commute home from work. He said he was carrying a knife because he used it at work to cut boxes.
A psychologist’s evaluation stated that he tends to oversimplify the influence of pornography on his actions and has “little awareness of his need for control and power and he does not recognize the predatory elements and planning that characterized (his crimes).”
Prosecutor Louise Blais had asked for a 14-year term while defence lawyer Alan Guttman wanted five.
While noting that the lawyers were “diametrically opposed,” the judge said she balanced Ventura’s remorse and openness to undergoing therapy with his having used a knife and invaded the three home over less than a month.
With time served, Ventura was left with a 39-month prison term on Friday.
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