Alicia Chiesa

The court sentenced B.B. for sexual offences against two child complainants, J.B. and F.T.G., including sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching, and making sexually explicit material available to a child.

The decision details aggravating and mitigating factors, the impact on the victims and their families, and the application of sentencing principles such as denunciation, deterrence, and the totality principle.

The court imposed a total sentence of nine and a half years, with extended parole ineligibility, and made several ancillary orders for public protection.

The applicant brought a Charter application under s. 24(2) to exclude a massager seized from his apartment, arguing the Information to Obtain (ITO) for the search warrant failed to disclose sufficient grounds, breaching s. 8.

The court reviewed the ITO, applying principles of excision and amplification to correct minor inaccuracies regarding the applicant's alleged sexual communications and use of the massager with the 11-year-old complainant.

The court found that even on the corrected record, there were overwhelming reasonable and probable grounds to believe offences had been committed and that the items sought would afford evidence.

The application was dismissed.

This decision addresses competing applications for a change of venue in a first-degree murder trial.

The Crown sought to transfer the trial from Gore Bay to Sudbury, while the accused sought a transfer to Toronto, or alternatively, North Bay.

The court determined that a change of venue from Gore Bay was expedient due to the lengthy trial, daily travel for the in-custody accused, and winter travel conditions.

The court granted the Crown's application, ordering the trial to proceed in Sudbury, finding it to be the most appropriate venue given its proximity to the original community, adjacent jail facilities, and available courtroom.

The accused's arguments regarding jail conditions and proximity to counsel and family were not sufficiently supported by evidence or did not outweigh the principle of local trials.