Clyde Smith

Historical charges of gross indecency, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, and assault were tried arising from allegations by an adopted daughter against her former stepfather concerning events said to have occurred in the 1980s.

Applying the W.(D.) framework, the court found the complainant honest and sincere but concluded the evidence did not permit findings beyond a reasonable doubt as to what occurred on several key allegations.

The court accepted some inappropriate sexualized comments and touching along the sides of the complainant's body, but held the Crown had not proven the required sexual purpose for sexual exploitation.

Given the evidentiary uncertainty and the burden of proof, the accused was acquitted on all counts.

The offender pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death after a collision that killed the victim.

The offender, a 34-year-old first-time offender who worked as a correctional officer and volunteer firefighter, was speeding and highly intoxicated at the time of the crash.

The court emphasized denunciation and general deterrence, sentencing the offender to 5 years in penitentiary and a 5-year driving prohibition.

The accused was tried on historical sexual assault allegations arising from an alleged priest-child relationship in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The court applied the approach to adult testimony about childhood events and held that inconsistencies on dates, times, and peripheral details did not undermine the complainant's credibility, particularly given the passage of time and the complainant's traumatic background.

Corroborative circumstances, including independent evidence of contact between the complainant and the accused and the contents of an assessment report recording the accused's admissions about sexual activity with underage males, supported the complainant's account.

One count was dismissed because the Crown did not prove the timeline beyond a reasonable doubt, but the second sexual assault count was proven and resulted in a conviction.