Calgary judge convicts man of sex assault and crowbar attack despite no victim testimony

WARNING: This story contains graphic details of a violent sexual assault

The testimony of a Good Samaritan and "startling" video of a violent sexual attack led a judge to convict a Calgary man of sexual assault with a weapon despite the victim disappearing before the trial.

James Francis Pritchard, 47, was found guilty of beating a woman with a crowbar and then forcing her to perform a sexual act on him near a bus stop on 37th Street S.W. 

The victim, who is identified in Justice Brandy Shaw's decision as CT, could not be located for the trial and did not testify.

Prosecutor Samina Dhalla relied, instead, on a video of the crowbar attack, as well as the testimony of a woman identified in Shaw's decision as M. Madsen.

'Pleading, desperate' screams for help

Details of the crime come from Shaw's 11-page conviction decision released Tuesday. 

On March 10, 2024, Madsen was inside her home when she heard a woman screaming outside in the alley. 

The screams were "pleading, desperate" and "sounded like a cry for help."

Wearing her slippers, Madsen ventured outside, in the dark, on her own. 

Madsen interrupted sexual assault

She walked around a fence to find a woman with a man, now identified as Pritchard. The two were engaged in a sexual act. 

Because of the screaming, "Madsen believed the interaction was non-consensual."

She yelled and the two broke apart. Pritchard appeared angry. The woman crumpled on the ground sobbing, according to Madsen's testimony. 

Madsen asked the victim if she knew the man. The woman on the ground said "no."

Pritchard shouted at Madsen to "f--k off."

Spotting Pritchard's clenched fists and the crowbar on the ground, Madsen picked it up. 

Pritchard ran away shouting "you are ruining my night."

Attack caught on camera

Security camera footage of the parking lot where the attack took place shows Pritchard and CT walking together.

Shaw described the video as "startling."

As CT steps ahead of Pritchard, he slips a crowbar out of the sleeve of his jacket.

With two hands, he raises the weapon and strikes CT in the back of the head. 

A second crowbar swing

She falls to the ground and then, while standing over her, Pritchard takes another swing. 

By then, CT had rolled on her back and had her arms in front of her face, protecting her head.

Pritchard's next strike hit CT on her arms.

The video then shows Pritchard pulling CT up, then forcing her into a sexual act. 

Moments later, Madsen appeared on the video, interrupting the attack. 

After Pritchard ran away, Madsen brought CT into her home and called police. 

Victim sobbing, distressed

She described CT as being in her 30s, Indigenous and petite. Madsen believed CT was intoxicated at the time of the attack. 

At Madsen's home, CT put her head on her arm, which was swollen.

CT was sobbing, distressed and appeared to be in pain, according to Madsen. 

Shaw found Madsen to be a good, reliable witness. 

In his statement to police, Pritchard denied sexual contact with CT and denied hitting her with a crowbar. 

"I fully reject the accused's denials," said Shaw. 

Pritchard also suggested that CT had agreed to give him oral sex. 

'Not consenting'

But Shaw found "CT did not subjectively consent to the sexual contact."

Pritchard "was aware that CT was not consenting," said Shaw. 

"He struck her with a crowbar twice to extort her co-operation."

Shaw will hear sentencing submissions from Dhalla and defence lawyer Moira McAvoy next month.

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.