Closing arguments in sex assault trial

By Jeremy Appel on November 16, 2018.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel

The Crown and defence presented closing arguments to the jury Thursday in the Court of Queen’s Bench trial of a local pastor who allegedly molested his niece and impregnated her.

Crown prosecutor Andrea Robbenhaar argued the evidence gathered from six witnesses proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused took advantage of his position of trust and authority to sexually abuse the complainant.

The trial heard Wednesday from the complainant and her mother, then Thursday her father, cousin, former Medicine Hat Police Service inspector Glen Motz and Staff-Sgt. Trevor Humphreys. The defence opted not to call any witnesses.

The complainant testified Wednesday that the accused, who cannot be named to protect the complainant’s identity, first sexually assaulted her in February 2012, luring her into the basement of the house where she resided with him and his family.

She was 17 and it was her first sexual encounter.

The defence found no major contradictions in the Crown’s narrative during cross-examination, Robbenhaar said.

The few holes in the story, such as the complainant not remembering which parent drove her to Calgary in late 2011 to move in with her aunt and uncle, are understandable given the seven years that have passed, she added.

“Truth flows like water, hitting sticks along the way, but still flowing,” Robbenhaar told the jury.

Defence lawyer Brian Shantz said he doesn’t deny something happened between the accused and complainant, but said there’s reasonable doubt as to the complainant’s reliability.

“There’s a question of whether her memory created this,” said Shantz.

The family had high expectations the accused would help their daughter turn her life around, but Shantz said there’s no evidence those were communicated to him adequately.

When she got pregnant, the accused allegedly forced the complainant to get an abortion against her will, driving her to Calgary.

While the complainant testified she was having intense anxiety about the procedure, the report from the clinic, which was entered as evidence Wednesday, describes her demeanour as calm.

The alleged victim also testified she had a poor relationship with her parents, which is why she was sent to live with the accused and his wife in Medicine Hat, but her father testified that he spoke to her on the phone about four times a week.

“Memory’s an issue. There’s no doubt about that,” Shantz conceded.

Earlier in the day, a cousin of the accused and complainant said the accused called him in 2015, confessing to having an inappropriate relationship with his niece.

“The first thing he said was to ask for forgiveness for all the pain he caused the family,” the cousin testified, adding that he couldn’t stop crying at the thought of what the accused was admitting to.

“When someone passes away, you know when you’re going to stop crying … but this is different.”

Motz testified that he received a call in May 2015 from the accused at police headquarters.

The former MHPS inspector attended the same church as the accused, donating funds to some of his projects abroad.

According to Motz, the alleged perpetrator was calling all his donors to apologize for committing adultery.

Motz asked if he had met a woman in Africa, to which the accused responded that it was his wife’s niece, although he didn’t specify if they had sex.

Knowing the family as acquaintances from church, Motz immediately visualized the complainant and her young age, whom he described in court as “an obvious teenager to me.”

The accused indicated his inappropriate relationship with his niece had been going on for three or four years, he testified.

“Recognizing that there was criminal jeopardy … I ended the conversation,” Motz said, adding that the phone call lasted about two minutes.

Motz testified the accused had called his office a couple times after, but he didn’t answer.

Motz contacted the Calgary Police Sex Crimes Unit on May 8, 2015, connecting them with the MHPS Major Crimes Unit and Staff-Sgt. Humphreys.

The accused was arrested June 5, 2015, and charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation.

The trial continues today with Justice Bryan Mahoney’s instructions to the jury.

Note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Crown prosecutor Andrea Robbenhaar’s surname.

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