Joel Eric Carlson.

Image Credit: Kamloops RCMP

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Kamloops prosecutors are seeking a 14-year jail sentence for a convicted serial rapist.

Joel Eric Carlson, born in 1992, returned before a judge nearly a year after a 12-person jury found him guilty of multiple sexual assaults.

The assaults took place over several years and included multiple victims in both Kamloops and the Lower Mainland. With some he had a lengthy relationship and others he had only known briefly.

Two women gave statements to the court and they both described having trust issues and fear for their safety in the years following the assaults.

"Until Joel was taken into custody, I always had concerns about my safety," one said in her statement.

Crown lawyer Katie Bouchard read both victim statements aloud on their behalf.

A Kamloops jury convicted Carlson on six counts of sexual assault and acquitted him of four others. His two-day sentencing hearing began in BC Supreme Court on May 20.

Seven women testified throughout his eight-day trial last June, which came three years after he was charged. The most recent assault took place in 2018.

All their names are protected under court-ordered publication bans.

Victims came forward after Vernon RCMP announced a 2020 criminal charge, for which he was convicted of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman two years later.

The women who came forward testified Carlson had sexually assaulted them and were described as having an "axe to grind" by his lawyer Lisa Helps. Some he dated, some he cheated on ex-girlfriends with, and it was suggested they were all angry with him.

"Some of them, I think, have decided after the fact, a type of buyer's remorse, that they never should have done anything with him and decided it was sexual assault," Helps said in her closing arguments at the trial last year.

Their testimony and circumstances of the assaults varied, but a common theme from some was Carlson's ability to overpower them.

Joel Eric Carlson is seen entering the Kamloops courthouse on June 13, 2024.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

The first victim met Carlson at a Lower Mainland gym 12 years ago, where he taught her how to use a leg press machine. The two dated briefly until he raped her in his mother's home.

"I had a rule," she told the court last year. "I only wanted to have sex with a condom on."

Though she said no, tried fighting him off and hit the wall to get the attention of Carlson's mother. Carlson's mother told him to "go to bed," but didn't intervene.

In a statement to the court, she said the assault left her with trust issues, especially with men, and she had spent thousands of dollars on counselling and life coaching in the following years.

She also said Carlson or his mother would send her messages each year "like clockwork," which she wouldn't answer. Carlson also showed up at her athletic competition in Kamloops then told her cousin he would try to "get with her," according to her statement to the court.

Despite the trust issues, the trauma and the years of counselling she detailed, the woman also told the court she "forgives" Carlson.

"I hope you find peace someday like I have," she said in her statement.

Another victim had dated Carlson for four years.

He showed up on her balcony unannounced after they broke up and she let him inside on the condition he sleep on the couch. Instead, he raped her in her own bed.

“I said no, get off me," she told the court. "It was almost like it was egging him on. Like he wanted to prove a point... that he was in control and had power over me.”

She said he raped her three times over three months.

"No one should ever feel unsafe in their home, and that is part of what he took from me," she said in her victim impact statement.

Bouchard read the statement aloud in the court, in which the woman went on to say she continues to double-check her doors are locked.

Another of the several victims met Carlson on Tinder and then at a local bar. She told the court because she was more intoxicated than she expected, she arranged to sleep on Carlson's couch.

Instead, she slept in his bed, but she could only recall some details from the assault.

As he kissed her, she told him to stop but couldn't remember much after. In the morning, she awoke in pain, implying she was raped.

Carlson's bail was revoked after his conviction and has remained in custody since. During his trial, Carlson was clean shaven and wore a suit. 

He now has a beard and appears to have gained weight as he appeared in an orange sweater on the first of his two-day sentencing hearing.

Lawyers submitted he should have credit for more than 700 days of time already served in jail. His defence will submit a proposed sentence to BC Supreme Court Justice Paul Riley tomorrow, May 21.

NOTE TO READERS: If you find yourself in need of support please contact one of these organizations. Help is available 24 hours a day at each of these phone numbers:

• VictimLinkBC: 1-800-563-0808
• Vancouver Rape Relief crisis line: 604-872-8212
• Kamloops Sexual Assault Counselling Centre crisis line: 1-888-974-7278

To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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