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Tyler Stephens has been behind bars for nearly 15 months. (File photo)
By John McDonald
When a young man interrupted what turned out to be a sexual assault by the Rutland Rapist on his front lawn in the summer of 2007, he had no idea that it was Tyler Stephens, a schoolmate who was one grade ahead of him at Rutland Secondary School.
“It was pretty weird when I found out who it was,” said the young man, who asked that his name not be used. He said his impression of Stephens at RSS was of a big strong competitive guy who was into sports. “He was a pretty cocky kid, but I definitely didn’t see this coming.”
The young man, just 18 at the time of the attacks in 2007, had gone to bed early that night because he had to work early the next day.
“I heard some yelling and I looked out the window and these people wrestling on the grass,” he said. “I went to check what was going on. I thought it was two guys just fooling around wrestling. When he saw me, he jumped up and said “oh shit,” and took off down the road.”
It was only then he realized it was a young woman lying on the lawn, stunned after the violent attack. He called out to his mother, who in turn called the police and ambulance.
“They were there right away,” he recalled. “She had a big goose egg on her head. She didn’t say anything.”
Police later told him the victim was a young student who spoke little English and that the attacker was the man who would become known as the Rutland Rapist. Stephens has since been charged with 10 sexual assaults on nine women. He’s pled guilty to those offences and a Crown prosecutor is arguing in Kelowna Provincial Court that he should be considered a dangerous offender, a designation in Canadian law that could put him behind bars indefinitely.
Exhibits filed in that hearing provide more details of what happened that night. It was Stephens’ fifth attack. He came up behind the student, putting a cloth bag over her head and put his hand over her mouth and nose, stopping her from screaming. But his victim bought herself a brief break from his restraints by pretending to be unconscious. He relaxed, then she screamed and started fighting again. He picked her up by her chin and dropped her back down again, giving her two black eyes.
Even though he broke up the attack, the young man insists he was of little help to police and not a hero. “I didn’t really get a good look at him, it happened so fast,” he said. “It would have been better if I had reacted faster, but I did the best I could.”
Of Stephens, he said, “anyone who does stuff like that should be locked up for a long time.”
He may get his wish, if the prosecution in Stephens’ Dangerous Offender Hearing gets its way.
Court heard more testimony yesterday from Dr. Lindsey Jack, a psychologist with the B.C. Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission and Correctional Service of Canada who conducted several interviews with Stephens in prison during his risk assessment.
Stephens’ lawyer, Nicole Schabus, spent the morning poring over Jack’s report on Stephens, asking for additional details on how the risk assessment was conducted and the efficacy of the psychological tests conducted on him. She is arguing against the dangerous offender designation, saying with some help, he can control his urges.
Jack told court that she does not consider Stephens a psychopath and that she considers most of his dynamic risk factors for reoffending to be changeable through prison-based treatment programs, assuming he is motivated.
The psychologist said Stephens was quite willing to talk about his crimes and his state of mind around the time they occurred and seemed to understand their impact on his victims.
The Dangerous Offender Hearing is set to resume sometime in April or May.
john@kelowna.com
250-575-0521
One Response to “Young man recalls breaking up sexual assault by Rutland Rapist”
Tags: corrections, crown prosecution, david ruse, John McDonald, nicole schabus, rapist, rutland, Rutland Rapist, Tyler Stephens
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What is she talking about??There R NO programs in federal prisons in Canada that inmates MUST attend, its their choice to attend. I say let him rot in there, he did it 10 times that we know of, how many other victims does he have out there, no one knows, he is a serial offender and should stay in jail indefinitely, or get casterated. Piece of crap. Dee.
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