Warning: This story contains details that may be disturbing to some readers.
A B.C. man pleaded guilty June 23 to three counts of sexual assault involving separate women and now awaits sentencing in Vancouver Provincial Court.
Four charges were laid against Arturo Garcia Gorjon, 47, involving four different women between July 2009 and December 2010.
Now, Garcia Gorjon has pleaded guilty to three charges.
Ad hoc Crown prosecutor Gloria Ng told Judge Nicholas Preovolos the first incident happened July 1, 2009. Ng said a woman had gone out for the evening, arriving home at about 3 a.m.
The judge heard a man grabbed her by the waist, threw her to the ground and buried his face in her lower region while grabbing her legs.
Another woman pulled the man off and he fled.
DNA swabs taken from her legs tested positive for Garcia Gorjon’s DNA, Ng said.
On Nov. 15, 2009, a woman was arriving home from work when she stopped to check her mail at her Beach Avenue apartment in Vancouver.
She felt something behind her and then a man put his hand under her skirt. She saw him on his knees next to her. She pulled away, hitting him in the process. He soon fled in a car.
The incident was caught on CCTV and DNA from her clothing was a match to Garcia Gorjon.
On Dec. 23, 2010, a woman returned home to her Broughton Street apartment and was looking for her keys when a man approached. When she turned, she was pushed into a door facing the man.
The court heard he got on his knees with his hands on her hips and began moving his tongue around while his head was up her skirt.
She began yelling and he ran.
DNA from her clothing also matched Garcia Gorjon.
Ng said there was no consent in any of the cases.
Asked if he agreed with Ng’s description of events, Garcia Gorjon said, “It’s time for me to take responsibility.”
He said he had been having problems with drugs and alcohol and had been through some “dark years.”
The case returns to court Sept. 15.
Past appearances
The charges against Garcia Gorjon were sworn July 21, 2023, making the case 696 days old by the time the pleas were entered.
The case had been moving toward a trial, the court heard in March.
The June 23 appearance was the 46th on the file. Eleven prosecutors plus ad hoc Crown counsel have been involved. At least 16 judges or justices of the peace have heard proceedings.
Garcia Gorjon was released on $15,000 bail July 28, 2023 with a deposit of $7,500.
He was ordered not to contact any of the alleged victims and is prohibited from applying for any new travel documents from any country, court documents said.
The investigation
The Vancouver Police Department launched Project Scrimmage in 2011 with hopes of finding new evidence that could lead to a break in cases.
That break finally came in January 2023 when VPD obtained evidence linking the three unsolved sex assaults to a fourth cold case that occurred in the downtown core on Christmas Eve in 2010.
Those links quickly led VPD investigators to a 45-year-old suspect who was then in Regina.
“Even when a case goes cold, we never stop investigating, and we never give up hope that we will one day find the missing clue that will solve a crime,” Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Wilson said at the time.
