A serial rapist who says he was left permanently disabled by a prison attack was the author of his own misfortune, according to a statement of defence filed by the Attorney General of Canada in federal court.
Sofyan Boalag, whose spree of sexual assaults terrorized St. John’s in 2012, is suing the federal government.
He’s alleging staff at a federal prison failed to protect him from a stabbing in February 2023, which left him unable to walk for the rest of his life. In a statement of defence, however, the feds say Boalag brought it on himself.
Among the particulars of his “contributory negligence,” the statement of defence claims:
- “[Boalag] failed to inform the [prison staff] of any risks to his personal safety,”
- “He provoked the other inmate involved in the incident,”
- “He failed to take reasonable steps to avoid the incident,”
- “He failed to keep a proper lookout,”
- “He failed to ensure his own safety,”
- “He conducted himself in a reckless manner.”
The filing also claims Boalag got the date wrong in his statement of claim — saying the incident happened on Feb. 12, 2023, nine days after the date referenced in Boalag’s filings.
It also denied Boalag’s claim that he’ll never walk again, and put the onus on him to prove it.
Boalag was convicted of raping two women and a 15-year-old girl in Newfoundland during the summer and fall of 2012.
There were six complainants in total, with women describing how he choked them unconscious and threatened them with a knife on city streets in the early hours of the morning.
He was convicted in 2016, and declared a dangerous offender by the courts — resulting in an indeterminate prison sentence. He was at the Atlantic Institution in Renous, N.B., at the time of the incident, but has since been moved to a prison in Ontario.
Boalag says he was attacked from behind, failed by staff
According to Boalag’s lawsuit, filed by Halifax-area lawyer Laura Neilan, the inmates were released from their cells to line up for medication.
Boalag says a man came up behind him, and he didn’t see the attack coming. He says correctional officers failed to intervene in a timely fashion, leaving him vulnerable to multiple stabs from a “sharp weapon.”
The lawsuit claims the attacker was a man with “pre-indicators of violence” toward Boalag.
It alleges prison staff failed to prevent weapons from entering the facility, failed to search inmates before allowing them to line up, and ignored internal policy by letting multiple inmates out of their cells at the same time.
In its statement of defence, lawyers for the attorney general deny the claims, saying “at all times material it provided adequate supervision of inmates, including [Boalag].”
They also say Boalag received “reasonable, necessary and adequate” medical assistance.
They’re asking a judge to dismiss his claim with costs awarded to the federal government.
The statements made by Boalag and the attorney general have not yet been tested in court.
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