Uncle guilty of sex charges

By Jeremy Appel on November 17, 2018.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel

A man accused of repeatedly molesting his teenage niece over the course of three years has been found guilty of sexual assault and sexual exploitation at the Court of Queen’s Bench.

It took the jury about 90 minutes to reach a verdict Friday.

The accused, a former pastor who was employed as a custodian at a local church, began abusing his niece after she moved to live with him and his family in 2011.

He first forced her to have unprotected sex with him in February 2012, when she was a 17-year-old virgin.

After getting pregnant, the former pastor compelled her to get an abortion against her will, driving her three hours to a clinic in Calgary, and telling her to lie about her age and address.

“I hope this will be a lesson to all that a person can seem calm on the outside, but is a lion on the inside,” the mother, who testified Wednesday, told the News after her brother-in-law was found guilty.

“Unless someone has the courage to speak up, that will never be known.”

She said it’s crucial to show compassion for those who have been through trauma and abuse.

In addition to the mother, the trial also heard from the victim Wednesday, as well as her father, a cousin of the accused and complainant, former Medicine Hat Police Service inspector Glen Motz and Staff-Sgt. Trevor Humphreys on Thursday. The defence opted not to call any witnesses.

The cousin and Motz each testified that the accused confessed to having an inappropriate relationship with the complainant.

Prior to deliberations, Justice Bryan Mahoney provided instructions to the jurors.

He told the jurors to keep two things in mind when assessing the witnesses’ testimony — their credibility, meaning whether they were being honest, and reliability, whether their memories are accurate.

In his closing argument, defence lawyer Brian Shantz had questioned the complainant’s reliability but not credibility.

He said he doesn’t deny they had a sexual relationship, but that there was reasonable doubt regarding her lack of consent.

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

When testifying about the abortion, the victim said she had intense anxiety about the procedure, but the report from the clinic indicated she was calm, which Shantz suggested was an example of faulty memory.

In order to do prove guilt of sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt, the Crown had to demonstrate that the accused intentionally touched the victim sexually without their consent.

The judge urged the jury not to fall into stereotypes of how a survivor or perpetrator of sexual assault should behave.

“There’s no typical victim, typical assailant, typical situation or typical reaction,” Mahoney stressed.

For the sexual exploitation charge, the Crown had to demonstrate the accused touched a young person for a sexual purpose while in a position of trust and authority.

“It is the nature of the relationship that is important,” Mahoney said.

In her closing remarks, Crown prosecutor Andrea Robbenhaar argued the accused took advantage of his position of trust and authority in the family to sexually abuse his niece.

After the verdict was read, the judge took the opportunity to address the victim.

“I want to make it clear what happened to you wasn’t your fault,” Mahoney said, praising her courage in coming forward.

A sentencing date will be set Dec. 14.

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