SELECTED CASE LAW
NEW BRUNSWICK:
In 2012 NBCA 64, Mr. M, a 36 year old man, appealed his conviction of three charges of sexual assault against his child nephews, Mr. RR and Mr. JR, and his spouse, Ms. SS. In his appeal he argued that the trial judge had not properly assessed the credibility of all witnesses, that he had ineffective counsel, and that the charges were based on false statements motivated by a vindictive family. He also appealed his sentence of the sexual assault against Mr. RR. The appeal of the conviction and sentence were dismissed. The court of appeal did not find any merit in his appeal.
Mr. M assaulted Mr. RR over a long period of time, during pre-puberty through his adolescence. Mr. M would sexually assault him when Mr. RR visited for lunch. The assaults included sexual touching, fellatio and sodomy. Mr. M would have Mr. RR watch pornography with him and would then sexually assault him. The assaults lessened when Mr. M’s daughter was old enough to walk and would occasionally walk in the room when the assaults occurred.
Mr. JR was assaulted once when he was 14 years old. Mr. M massaged his neck, began kissing him and touched his penis, which led Mr. JR to leave the room. Mr. M talked to Mr. JR later that night in a sexual manner and touched his penis again. Mr. JR contacted the Kids Help Line on the internet and sent an email about the incident. Two email replies were sent but Mr. JR did not respond. Three weeks later the RCMP attended his home and Mr. JR and Mr. RR report-ed the sexual assaults.
Ms. S was assaulted several times over a three-year period. Mr. M would touch her sexually despite her telling him not to and to stop. Mr. M had a history of violence in their relationship.
Mr. M denied assaulting the three people, claiming he was not in the province for many of the times that Mr. RR claimed he assaulted them. However, the court did not believe him and found Mr. JR and Mr. RR and MS. S to be credible.
Mr. M was sentenced to five years for the sexual assaults. Additional orders included a weapons ban, a DNA order, and a 20-year registration as a sex offender.
Both the conviction and sentence were upheld at the appeal court.
Criminal Offence(s): Sexual Assault