A Calgary man’s claim that he had consensual sex with a woman before someone else severely beat her was thrown out by a judge this week. The verdict brings some closure to a case that’s haunted our city for nearly seven years.
Justice Allan Fradsham convicted Kepra Udup Bang, 26, of aggravated sexual assault on Tuesday. The attack happened back in July 2019 in Forest Lawn, leaving the victim unconscious and fighting for her life. She spent more than a week in hospital before waking up.
The victim, identified only as M.M. in court documents, was found naked from the waist down and unconscious. Her injuries were so severe that witnesses described her as beaten beyond recognition. It’s the kind of violence that makes you wonder about the darkness some people carry inside them.
Udup Bang’s defense lawyers tried to argue that their client and the woman had consensual sex at her home earlier that day. They suggested someone else attacked her afterward. But Justice Fradsham wasn’t buying it.
The evidence told a different story. DNA from Udup Bang was found on the victim’s body. That alone might not have sealed the case. But investigators also found his DNA on a wristband lying next to the woman’s unconscious body.
“The only DNA on the wrist band was male DNA and that DNA matched the accused,” Fradsham noted in his ruling. That physical evidence created a timeline that contradicted the defense’s theory completely.
Udup Bang testified that he’d met M.M. at a relative’s child’s birthday party weeks before the attack. He claimed she contacted him on July 14, 2019, and invited him over. According to his version, they went straight to her bedroom and had sex. Then he left, and someone else must have attacked her.
But an eyewitness account destroyed that narrative. A woman living nearby was awakened by screaming that night. She looked out her window and saw something that still probably keeps her up at night.
She witnessed a man holding the victim from behind. His pants were down. The woman was clearly in distress. Within minutes, police arrived and found M.M. unconscious on the street.
“She was unconscious and naked from the waist down,” Justice Fradsham said, describing the scene officers encountered. The combination of the victim’s state and the perpetrator having his pants down left no doubt about what was happening.
“The assault on M.M. was a sexual assault,” Fradsham concluded. Even if there had been some prior consent, which the judge firmly rejected, the brutal nature of the attack would have negated it anyway.
This case sat cold for years. Udup Bang wasn’t charged until late 2024, when genetic material collected from the victim finally came back as a match. That’s a frustrating reality of modern forensic work. Sometimes justice crawls at a pace that feels unbearable for victims and their families.
I’ve covered Calgary courts for years now, and cases like this reveal both our system’s strengths and weaknesses. The DNA technology that eventually identified Udup Bang is remarkable. But the five-year gap between the attack and charges? That’s harder to justify.
Forest Lawn has been working hard to shake off negative stereotypes. Community leaders there have invested enormous energy into making the neighborhood safer and more welcoming. Then cases like this surface, reminding everyone that violence can happen anywhere in our city.
The victim in this case showed remarkable resilience. She survived injuries that could have killed her. She stayed engaged with the investigation for years. She faced her attacker in court. That takes a kind of courage most of us will hopefully never need to summon.
Udup Bang remains in custody while awaiting sentencing. His lawyer, Gunntas Sidhu, requested a presentence report. That document will give the judge information about Udup Bang’s background, mental health, and other factors before deciding on an appropriate sentence.
The convicted man returns to court next week to set a date for his sentencing hearing. Aggravated sexual assault carries serious penalties under Canadian law. Given the severity of the injuries and the judge’s complete rejection of the consent defense, Udup Bang faces significant prison time.
Cases like this one ripple through our community in ways that aren’t always visible. Victims of sexual violence see these stories and relive their own trauma. Women walking alone at night feel that familiar knot of anxiety tighten. Parents worry about their daughters.
But guilty verdicts also send a message. They tell victims that coming forward matters. They tell perpetrators that DNA evidence and patient police work will eventually catch up with them. They remind everyone that our justice system, for all its flaws, still functions.
I think about the woman who looked out her window that night in 2019. She heard screaming and didn’t just close her curtains and go back to sleep. She looked. She remembered details. She testified. That kind of civic courage matters more than people realize.
Forest Lawn deserves better than to be defined by its worst moments. The neighborhood has good people doing good work every day. But we can’t ignore violence when it happens. Acknowledging it, prosecuting it, and convicting perpetrators protects everyone.
Justice Fradsham’s verdict reflects careful consideration of evidence and witness testimony. The decision shows our courts still take sexual assault seriously, even when defense lawyers construct alternative narratives. Physical evidence and eyewitness accounts outweighed convenient explanations.
The sentencing phase will determine how long Udup Bang spends behind bars. Whatever that number ends up being, it won’t undo what happened to M.M. that night. But it might give her some measure of peace knowing her attacker was held accountable.
