A provincial court judge says attacks on Vernon sex trade workers were serious and extreme, and demand a severe sentence. Judge Al Betton imposed an 11 year prison term on 36 year old Michael Bopfinger of Lumby, which includes eight years of new jail time, and three years credit for time served since his arrest in July 2009. Bopfinger picked up three prostitutes in separate incidents in Vernon's downtown in June and July 2009, taking them to remote areas in the Commonage and sexually assaulting them, using knives, and tying one victim up. The first victim was punched, slapped, strangled and assaulted before being left in a rural area naked and bloodied. Crown Counsel Howard Pontious called the crimes the most horrific he's come across. "Yes, because there were three victims, and the one victim had ligature marks on her neck that were as bad as anything I've ever seen. In fact, in the past when I've seen those ligature marks, they're taken in the morgue and the person is dead." Pontious tells KISS FM, it's a stiff sentence for the offences. "It's actually very hard to find a sexual assault sentence longer than three years, so that's where the courts have set the range and it's in the range. This was a stiff sentence in taking everything into account including he plead guilty and got a discount for that."Another victim says Bopfinger cut her cheek with a knife, held a knife to her throat, tied her hands behind her back and assaulted her.The third victim had a knife held to her throat but managed to get out of the van. She called police and Bopfinger was arrested a short time later on Commonage Road.Defence lawyer Jennifer Thorne of Kelowna called for the same penalty as the Crown, and read a statement where Bopfinger apologized to his victims for the "physical and emotional damage" he had caused them. Bopfinger was not in the court room for the sentencing which was done through video conference from the prison he's at.He will also have to provide a DNA sample for a sex offenders registry, and was banned from using firearms for life.Photo: Police sketch of Micheal Bopfinger based on victim descriptions in 2009.
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