A southern Alberta man who admitted to the vicious sexual assault of a Lethbridge woman in an alley almost two years ago was sentenced on Friday. Denzel Dre Colton Bird, 21, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault and break and enter last fall. Bird admitted to attacking a 25-year-old woman and dragging her into an alley in south Lethbridge where he sexually assaulted her and left her for dead. The woman was found by a member of the community on September 30, 2016, partially naked inside a garbage can. The victim sustained skull fractures and broken bones in her face and spent about a month in a medically induced coma in hospital. She was hospitalized for four months while recovering from her injuries and had to relearn how to walk and talk. During Bird’s sentencing hearing in April the victim's cousin read a victim impact statement on her behalf and said that she still hasn't returned to normal after the attack and has years of therapy ahead of her. Bird addressed the court during the hearing and said that he ‘hurt a woman and broke her soul’ and that he prayed for forgiveness. The Crown is asking for a sentence of 20 years in prison and Bird’s lawyer is requesting a sentence between six and eight years. Judge Jerry LeGrandeaur sentenced Bird to 15 years in prison but he will receive 2.5 years credit for time served. (With files from The Canadian Press)
