Calgary man found guilty of raping 90-year-old woman

WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.

A Calgary man was found guilty of raping a 90-year-old woman in her seniors’ residence apartment in 2021.

Duran Ross Buffalo, 40, was on trial this week, on charges of aggravated sexual assault and break and enter to commit sexual assault stemming from a Jan. 1, 2021, attack.

After about an hour of deliberation, jurors delivered guilty verdicts on both charges late Friday afternoon.

His conviction comes after a jarring 911 call was played in a Calgary courtroom Monday, where jurors heard the voice of the distraught 90-year-old woman who had just been raped in her assisted living apartment.

The 90-year-old woman died last year. A publication ban protects her identity.

Initially, police did not believe the woman had been raped. They blamed her dementia and sent her to a local hospital for a potential bladder infection. 

Eventually, after Buffalo’s shirt was discovered in the assisted living home, the woman was taken for a rape kit exam.

Buffalo represented himself at the trial. 

Court of King’s Bench Justice Michele Hollins will hear sentencing arguments from prosecutor Matt Dalidowicz at a later date. 

A date for that hearing has not been set. The case has been adjourned for several weeks so that a pre-sentencing report can be prepared.

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, support is available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database.