Canada's Olympic Ski coach guilty of CSA of 9 athletes - Mont Tremblant
Man convicted of sex assault on 8 y/o girl on beach - Vancouver
Former badminton coach facing 23 disturbing CSA charges - Victoria
Cop impersonator wanted for sex abuse and other charges - Canada
Police arrest rapist in 18 y/o child rape case marked 'Unfounded' - Ottawa
3 cops on trial may get gang-rape charges dismissed - Toronto
Ex-Canada ski coach guilty of sex abuse
Bertrand Charest sexually abused nine young athletes between 1991 and 1998
AFP
Montreal: A former coach of Canada’s national junior women’s ski team was found guilty on Thursday of having sexually abused nine young athletes between 1991 and 1998.
Bertrand Charest, 52, was arrested and charged in 2015 after a former junior skier filed a complaint with police.
He faces up to 14 years in prison when he is sentenced in August on 37 charges including sexual assault of minor-aged athletes and breach of trust.
“The accused acted like a true predator, carefully weaving his web to attract young women, adolescents, and exercised total influence over them,” Quebec Court Judge Sylvain Lepine said.
“The accused had total control — emotionally, athletically and psychologically — over all of the complainants,” the judge said.
Several of the crimes occurred at the Mont-Tremblant ski resort, as well as in France, Austria, New Zealand and in the United States.
One young victim, who was 15 at the time, became pregnant and had an abortion.
Two-year jail term sought for man who sexually assaulted girl, 8, at beach near UBC
Keith Fraser
The Crown is seeking a two-year jail term for a Vancouver man who was convicted of committing sex offences against an eight-year-old girl at a beach at the University Endowment Lands on Canada Day 2014.
In August 2016, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Miriam Gropper found David Alan Lessor guilty of one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference of the girl, who cannot be identified due to a publication ban.
Lessor fired his lawyer after the conviction, and the sentencing has been delayed a number of times. In March the judge gave him a deadline to get a lawyer by June 22 or she would proceed with the sentencing regardless.
Lessor showed up without a lawyer Thursday, saying he’d been denied legal aid, and requested yet another adjournment but the judge rejected his application.
In her submissions, Crown counsel Kristin Bryson told the judge that the most important principles on sentencing were denunciation and deterrence.
She noted the fact that Parliament in recent years had passed laws calling for tougher sentences for people who sexually abuse children.
Bryson said that Lessor had a prior conviction for sexual interference of underage girls and referred to a pre-sentence report in which Lessor declined to discuss the current offence.
A psychologist’s report on Lessor that was cited by Bryson had the accused being assessed as a moderate to high risk to reoffend.
Two victim impact statements —- from the victim’s mother, who also cannot be identified due to the ban, and the victim herself — were filed in court.
The mom said in her statement that reporting the crime could easily have cost her her daughter, who she had “fought tooth and nail for,” but that it had to be done.
“I didn’t want to do it. She didn’t want to do it. It was drawn out, humiliating, inconvenient and extremely stressful for both of us.
“Mr. Lessor was so oblivious to the effect of his crimes against us that he exposed our privacy by talking to the news. He is charming, narcissistic and touches children inappropriately when drunk and stressed.”
The victim said in her statement that she was “OK” but that she was glad that it was over.
“I feel like I’m going to cry when I talk about it. I think he knew what he was doing.”
Lessor, who has told the judge he wants to pursue an application seeking a stay of the charges on the grounds of trial delay, said he would give his sentencing submissions Friday.
Court heard that Lessor approached the victim shortly after she and her mom arrived at Acadia Beach, west of Spanish Banks.
Lessor, who did not know the girl or her mother, began a conversation about their dog, a boxer, and sat down to talk with them.
In her testimony, the girl said that after her mom had gone to her vehicle to pick up some items, Lessor lifted her dress a number of times. The girl, who was wearing a bathing suit under the dress, said Lessor touched her on the part of the suit that was covering her vagina and her posterior.
Lessor denied the allegations and said nothing of a sexual nature had occurred but the judge did not believe his denials and convicted him.
Former Victoria badminton coach facing
23 new sex charges
Harry Charles Sadd is facing charges involving boys
dating back to the late 1960s
CBC News
Harry Charles Sadd as he appeared in 1992 (left) and as he appears today. Victoria police announced Wednesday he is facing 23 new charges. (Victoria Police Department)
A former Victoria-area youth badminton coach is facing 23 new sex-related charges stretching back roughly five decades, following an investigation launched last summer by police.
Harry Charles Sadd, aged 70, was arrested in Victoria Tuesday. He was first arrested last summer on one count of sexual assault and three counts of indecent assault dating back to 1978.
At the time, police said he already had prior convictions for sexual assaults involving young male children and teens.
After the charges were announced last summer, several more people came forward prompting the Victoria Police Department's Special Victims Unit to launch a further investigation looking for additional victims.
On Wednesday police announced 12 more men have come forward. They said all alleged victims were between the ages of nine and 15 at the time of the alleged assaults. Some of the cases go back to the late 60s.
Sadd was expected to appear in court on Wednesday to face the new charges which include:
Eight counts of sexual assault.
Six counts of indecent assault
Three counts of gross indecency.
Four counts of buggery or bestiality.
Two counts of assault with intent to commit buggery or indecent assault on a male.
The charge of buggery was written out of the Canadian Criminal Code in 1988, but the old law is still used to prosecute cases taking place before 1983, according to the Justice Department website.
Police are asking anyone victimized by Sadd or with information about his activities with children and who have not yet spoken to police, to call their non-emergency line at 250-995-7654.
Victims can also contact the Men's Trauma Centre at 250-381-MENS (6367) or visit www.menstrauma.com, or, for those wishing to remain anonymous, Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Suspect identified in offences in Ontario and Alberta involving pretending to be a police officer
A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for a man who has allegedly impersonated a police officer and committed offences in Ontario and Alberta
By ALANNA RIZZA
A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for a Sechelt, B.C. man who has allegedly impersonated a police officer and committed offences in Ontario and Alberta since March.
The warrant was issued on Thursday after the suspect was identified. York Regional police detective Thai Truong said there is still a continuing investigation that includes the RCMP, Edmonton police and Calgary police.
On June 8, the suspect allegedly sexually assaulted a female after pretending to be a police officer in Vaughan. York Regional police said the suspect arranged to meet with an 18-year-old escort at a hotel near Interchange Way and Hwy. 7. At around 8 p.m., the man allegedly showed her a document he claimed to be a warrant, he then sexually assaulted the female and took an unknown amount of money.
Truong said the suspect is believed to be armed and dangerous and it’s unknown if he is in Ontario. “Police are aware that he travels frequently across Canada.”
Truong said there have been similar incidents in Calgary, which he believes are related.
Calgary police said, on June 5, a woman was contacted online by a man matching the description of Choudhry and they arranged to meet. Later that evening, when the man arrived, he allegedly impersonated a police officer and said he had a search warrant. The victim did not comply and the man fled the scene. He was then seen entering a black Volkswagen Jetta.
On April 11, a man matching the suspect’s description impersonated a police officer, handcuffed a woman and stole her cell phone and an undisclosed amount of money.
Calgary police said, on March 25, a man matching the description of the suspect allegedly pretended to be a police officer when he met with a woman. He then allegedly stole her cell phone, debit card, laptop, and an undisclosed amount of money.
CCTV images released from each incident have led police to identify the suspect, said York Regional police spokesperson Andy Pattenden. He said there could also be more victims.
“We are aware sometimes these incidents go unreported and so we are asking for anyone with information to come forward.”
Police identified the suspect as Asif Choudhry, 33, of Sechelt, B.C. He is facing charges related to impersonating a police officer, sex assault with a firearm, robbery with a firearm and forcible confinement.
Ottawa police make arrest in sex-assault case dismissed as unfounded 18 years ago
ROBYN DOOLITTLE
The Globe and Mail
Ottawa police have made an arrest in a previously closed rape investigation that was highlighted as part of a Globe and Mail probe into sex-assault complaints that are dismissed by police as unfounded.
The complainant, known as L, was 13 years old when she became pregnant as a result of the alleged rape. After having the baby, she went to police at the urging of her mother. Months after they met with a sergeant, L says they were told the case was being closed as “unfounded,” – a term that means the investigating officer does not believe a crime occurred – because the suspect told police he was sterile. A copy of L’s police file shows no evidence the detective asked for proof that the man could not have children. It also appears no attempts were made at the time to test the baby’s DNA – the child had been put up for adoption.
On Wednesday, more than 18 years after L first went to police, investigators announced an arrest.
“Ottawa Police has made an arrest of a male in regards to a case mentioned in the Globe and Mail Unfounded Series. The file was reopened after receiving new information that was not available at the time of the original complaint,” Inspector Jamie Dunlop told The Globe in an e-mail.
“Ottawa Police take every report of sex assault seriously and will follow evidence to its conclusion. There will be no further comments on this file as it is now before the courts.”
Police are not identifying the man at this time. He has been released on a promise to appear and is scheduled to be in court on Aug. 2.
Reached by phone on Wednesday, L, who is now 32, said she was “relieved” that police have acted after so many years, but she declined to comment further now that the case is before the courts.
The Globe's Unfounded series
In February, The Globe launched its Unfounded series, the result of a 20-month investigation into how Canadian police services handle sexual-assault cases. The probe, which collected crime statistics from 873 police jurisdictions through hundreds of freedom-of-information requests, determined that across the country, police are nearly twice as likely to classify a sex-assault complainant as unfounded or baseless, compared with physical assault.
On average, one out of every five sex-assault complaints made to police between 2010 and 2014 was classified as unfounded. Once a case is closed in this way, it is no longer considered a valid allegation and is not reflected in local or national statistics.
In response to The Globe’s reporting, about a third of the country’s police services have committed to reviewing sex-assault cases. The majority of those audits are continuing. Last month, the Calgary Police Service announced that it had gone through 175 files and 48 had been misclassified as unfounded. One case was reopened as a result of the review, but L’s complaint appears to be the first in the country that has resulted in an arrest.
Her file was one of 54 that The Globe examined as part of the series.
Her case dates back to March 30, 1999, about a year after L says she was raped. L was 14 when she met with the sergeant. A video of the police interview, which was obtained by The Globe, shows the young teen slouched on a couch at Ottawa police headquarters, with her arms wrapped tightly across her chest.
“I’d like to sit down and talk to you about certain allegations you made,” the male officer says. “Why are you here?”
“Because I. Just … ” – L giggled – “I’m sorry. I’m nervous.”
The sergeant would later tell her mother that he found the fact that L was giggling suspicious, although trauma experts say it is a common reaction – especially for a young teenage girl speaking with a male police officer about sexual acts.
L told the officer that about a year earlier, a male family friend had forced her to have sex. The man was in his late 20s at the time and she had been staying with him and his wife while her mother was out of town. Afterward, the man warned L not to tell anyone – and at first she didn’t.
But more than six months later, L began to feel something moving inside of her. Until that point, she had no idea she was pregnant. She later gave birth and the child was put up for adoption.
The sergeant ended the interview 21 minutes and 40 seconds after it began. The only records included in L’s police file are a short general occurrence report, a copy of a child-support worker’s memo and L’s video statement.
In November, 2015, Ontario’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, which can give financial awards to victims of violent crime, awarded L $28,000. The board’s legal test is similar to a civil proceeding. Decisions are based on a “balance of probabilities,” rather than the higher “beyond a reasonable doubt” test used in criminal courts.
The board interviewed both the suspect and L. They were each encouraged to bring any documentation that would support their case. The evidence is protected under a publication ban, but in issuing its decision, the board stated that it had found L to be “clear, forthright and credible,” while the suspect came off as “vague and inconsistent.”
The Globe is only identifying L by one of her initials at her request.
Fate of three Toronto cops accused of sex assault could hinge on video evidence
BY MICHELE MANDEL, TORONTO SUN
Toronto Police Consts. Joshua Cabero (from left), Leslie Nyznik and Sameer Kara outside court on May 29, 2017. (ERNEST DOROSZUK/Toronto Sun)
TORONTO - And now they wait.
The three Toronto Police officers charged with sexually assaulting a parking enforcement colleague will return to court Aug. 9 to learn their fate from Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy. The judge must decide whether they’re innocent or guilty — or whether the loss of key video evidence has violated their constitutional rights and the entire case against them should be thrown out.
Molloy seemed to suggest that might be a real possibility.
“I’m not nearly as troubled by the missing footage from the hotel,” she told Crown attorney Mabel Lai. “I’m more concerned about the cab.”
During this judge-alone trial, we’ve heard the complainant was invited to a 51 Division “rookie buy night” event of bar hopping on Jan. 15, 2015. After their last stop at the Brass Rail strip club, she accompanied two of the three officers in a taxi headed to the Westin Harbour Castle where the men had rented a room for the night. She said she was going along to coax her friend Sameer Kara — who’d left early after getting drunk — to come back out with them to party.
During the cab ride, she described becoming seriously unwell with an excruciating headache and an inability to follow the conversation. She testified that once in the hotel room, she was raped by two of the officers and forced to give oral sex to the third when she was too intoxicated — and possibly drugged — to consent.
Kara, Joshua Cabero and Leslie Nyznik have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. In final arguments, their lawyers insisted the group sex was consensual and she fabricated a crime because she regretted what she had done.
“She feared embarrassment, she feared what people would say, what people would think, what people would whisper,” charged lawyer Harry Black, who represents Nyznik.
Weird! That usually keeps victims from speaking out!
He accused her of creating a narrative where she was blameless, even researching the effects of date rape drugs so she could mimic the symptoms.
Patrick Ducharme, who represents Cabero, gave her the benefit of the doubt.
“She’s convinced herself of the validity of her beliefs,” he said. “They’re not actual memories. They’re reconstructed thoughts.”
The video is key for the defence. The arrival footage gleaned from the hotel show the complainant, who’d had seven or eight drinks during the course of the night, walking without any problem and standing at the elevator bank laughing and smiling with no sign of impairment.
The defence lawyers repeatedly referred to the evidence of toxicologist Betty Chow, who said the woman’s appearance on the video didn’t jibe with someone who was under the influence of a fast-acting date rape drug or a blackout-amount of liquor. And if she was feeling so sick, they asked, why didn’t she just stay in the cab and go home?
The judge commented on how the parking officer can be seen getting out of the cab without even holding on to the door.
Hmmmmm.
“That’s not easy to do,” Molloy said.
But some of the angles available from the hotel weren’t secured by investigators before the footage was erased and police also failed to get video from inside the taxi that may have showed the state of the woman’s sobriety. Joanne Mulcahy, who is also representing Nyznik, called it “unacceptable negligence” by the state that requires a stay of proceedings against them.
The judge signalled that their application may have some merit.
“The evidence about how she felt in the cab is quite critical,” the judge noted. “It doesn’t matter who dropped the ball. It definitely got dropped.”
For its part, the Crown argued that even investigators are fallible and a stay is a drastic, last resort that shouldn’t be used here to scuttle such an important case. And in his closing, prosecutor Phil Perlmutter insisted the complainant was “unwilling and unable” to consent to what happened to her that night and Nyznik’s account sounded like a rehearsed and unbelievable script from a porn movie.
He said. She said. Now the judge has the unenviable task of sifting through it all for the truth. And in the meantime, the three officers can enjoy their summer, suspended with pay.
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