Former Calgary teacher who raped and robbed women gets 13

Jul 03, 2023

A former Calgary teacher who pleaded guilty to raping and robbing a number of women has been handed a 13-year sentence for his crimes.

In February, Andrew Frank Sorensen, 37, pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault with an imitation firearm and five counts of robbery with an imitation firearm.

One of his victims described the trauma of the attack as "a wound that I will never erase" in her victim impact statement.

A publication ban protects the identities of the victims.

Former teacher pleads guilty, admits to rapes and robberies

Prosecutor Donna Spaner asked Justice Greg Stirling to impose a 14-year sentence while defence lawyer Matt Deshaye asked the court to consider a 10-year prison term.

In his decision, Stirling noted a forensic psychiatrist found Sorensen lacked empathy and minimized his crimes. He was found to be a high risk for sexual recidivism.

Over an eight-week period in 2022, Sorensen robbed and sexually assaulted nine women at eight locations.

All but one of the victims were working in small, storefront massage studios during the offences.

For about a decade, Sorensen worked for the Calgary Catholic School District at St. Isidore School, teaching with the online-only school for Grades 1-9. He has been suspended since his arrest in 2022.

Details of Sorensen's crimes come from an agreed statement of facts, filed with the court as part of his guilty plea earlier this year.

Between Jan. 10 and March 11, 2022, Sorensen waited until dark and then drove to various massage studios — and in one case a hotel room — wearing dark clothing, gloves and a mask.

He carried with him a kit, which included face paint, gloves, other items to disguise is appearance, condoms and lubricant.

Once at the location, Sorensen would force the women from the reception area into a massage room by threatening them with what looked to be a handgun.

In the massage rooms, Sorensen forced the women to perform sexual acts. In some cases, he held what appeared to be a gun to their heads.

Two of the women were raped.

Sorensen also robbed several of the businesses, demanding cash from the female employees.

One of the victims wrote that she is no longer comfortable being alone.

"It has made me not love myself like I used to … made me wonder if I'm good enough," she wrote.

Another victim said she is no longer able to work or take care of her children.

"Since that day when robbers held a gun to my head and suddenly attacked me, it has been a wound that I will never erase," she wrote.

On Feb. 23, Calgary police issued a press release asking for the public's help identifying the rapist and his vehicle.

Starting three days later, Sorensen's attacked two more women.

Det. Tim Fitzgibbons with the Calgary Police Service's sex crimes unit was able to identify the rapist by reviewing CCTV footage from his final crime scenes.

Sorensen also left his DNA on one of his victims who attended the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre after she was attacked.

With credit for the time he's already spent behind bars, Sorensen has about 11 years left to serve of his sentence.

CBC Calgary crime reporter

Meghan Grant is a justice affairs reporter. She has been covering courts, crime and stories of police accountability in southern Alberta for more than a decade. Send Meghan a story tip at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter.