Banff attacker admits abducting, assaulting 2 women

A man with a violent criminal history quietly pleaded guilty to kidnapping and assaulting two women in Banff, as well as a string of break-ins in Calgary.

Two women, who were cycling home after visiting a pub in Banff, accepted a ride from Cory Bitternose, 38, who was driving a stolen silver truck, in July 2008.

On Monday, he admittedkidnapping both of them and takingthem to a deserted parking lot.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Bitternose told them he was a murderer andthey would both die. He thenpunched and kicked them several times.

One woman managed to escape, but Bitternose sexually assaulted the other woman repeatedly, the court heard.

Wearing a blue prison jumpsuit, a bearded Bitternose stared at the floor, sometimes biting his bottom lip as the charges against him including kidnapping, sexual assault, assault with a weapon and uttering threats were read out loud in a Banff courtroom.

Break-ins, robberiespriorto Banff attacks

The accused,originally from Saskatchewan, also pleaded guilty to a string of break-ins in Calgary prior to the Banff attacks. Therobberies helped support Bitternose'scrack addiction.

From the end of June into July, Bitternosestole fromhomesand officesdaily, and sometimes twice a day, according to court documents.

The court heard that Bitternose shaved, showered and dressed in the homeowner's clothes at one residence, while making an elaborate meal at another homehe broke in to.

Thebreak-ins led to five counts of theft under $5,000, four counts of shopbreaking, 22 charges of housebreaking, two counts of mischief causing damage, two counts of robbery and one count of theft over $5,000.

The statement of facts readin courtwas so long that Judge Judy Shriar gave Crown prosecutor Joanne Durant a break in the middle of the proceedings.

Shriar askedBitternose toconfirm his guilty pleas three times,on the last occasion regarding the Banff attacks,Bitternose replied with a barely audible, "Yes, ma'am."

Violent criminal history

The Crown said it may apply to have Bitternose designated a dangerous offender, pending the conclusion of a psychiatric assessment.

"We have to wait to see what the testing shows us, but it's extraordinary," said Durant of a dangerous offender application."It doesn't happen frequently and it's only done in unusual situations where the Crown is concerned, as is the legislation, about the future protection of the community."

Bitternosehas a violent criminal history, including a string of assaults in Regina in 2004. According to transcripts from his sentencing hearing, he beat a man so badly at a party that the victim needed facial surgery.

Months later, Bitternose offered a ride to a woman walking in a Regina alley. She got into his car, but when she tried to back out of an agreement to trade sex for money, Bitternose kicked, punched and choked her.

In 1990, he broke into a Calgary office building washroom and beat a woman so badly that he left the imprint of his shoe on the victim's face. In that case, Bitternose pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to more than five years in prison.

Bitternose is due back in court May 4 in Banff.