Driver in B.C. hit and run sentenced in unrelated sexual assault of a minor – BC

WARNING: Details in this case may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.

A man already behind bars for a high-profile hit and run in which an Irish student was killed has been sentenced to three more years in jail in an unrelated case.

Alexandre Romero-Arata is set to be sentenced for the sexual assault of a minor in a separate case.

This sentence comes on the third anniversary of a collision in Kitsilano that left 24-year-old Eoghan Byrne dead.

Romero-Arata pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death in that 2022 case and was sentenced to five years in prison and an eight-year driving ban.

On Thursday, he was sentenced in an unrelated sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl. He was convicted by a jury in December 2023 for the incident that took place in a Vancouver hotel in 2021.

The jury heard that the assault involved choking the victim, pulling her hair and slapping her on the face and breasts.

In a statement, the victim’s mother said that what was done to her daughter was inexcusable and shattered their lives.

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In the crash that killed Bryne, the court heard that Romero-Arata had been drinking, was driving at speeds of up to 152 km/h and ran multiple red lights. Video recorded by a passenger in his vehicle showed him, at one point, saying, “I ain’t stopping for no red light.”

After the deadly collision, Romero-Arata fled the scene and then falsely reported his vehicle as stolen.

In the sexual assault case, the Crown and defence agreed that any sentence should be served after he is finished serving his sentence for the fatal hit and run.

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