A Calgary prosecutor said Monday he will ask a judge to declare Duran Ross Buffalo a dangerous offender and impose an indeterminate prison term, a sentence that could keep him locked up indefinitely.
Crown lawyer Matt Dalidowicz made the request to Justice Michele Hollins at the start of a two-week dangerous offender hearing in Calgary Court of King's Bench. Buffalo, 41, was convicted by a Calgary jury on Feb. 7, 2025, of aggravated sexual assault and breaking into a residence to commit that crime.
The offence was the rape of a 90-year-old woman on Jan. 1, 2021, after Buffalo broke into her northwest Calgary apartment. Dalidowicz said Buffalo has been convicted since 1999 of sexually abusing six females: five minors and the 90-year-old woman.
"The sexual offending is repetitive and escalating," Dalidowicz said. He described the attack on the woman in her bed as brutal on any measure.
Dalidowicz said he expects a psychiatrist and a psychologist who assessed Buffalo to give similar opinions. "On the measures of sexual reoffending, he falls in the highest risk category on every tool," he said.
He said the Crown's case rests on 20 years of conduct, the professionals' opinions and evidence about what the system can and cannot do to manage the risk. He said Buffalo has shown no past interest in treatment for substance abuse or in obeying court orders.
Dalidowicz said an indeterminate sentence does not necessarily mean no end. He said the Parole Board of Canada reviews such sentences, and that Buffalo's progress would determine whether he could be released.
Buffalo is not represented by a lawyer. Defence lawyer Bev Broadhurst has been appointed as amicus to cross-examine witnesses and make arguments.
Buffalo spoke briefly to the judge after the Crown's opening, in a voice barely above a whisper. "I just want all the evil not to be in my life," he said.
The hearing continues.
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