Andrew Greenfield

The appellant was convicted of breaking into and assaulting a 68-year-old woman and breaking into and raping a 54-year-old woman.

He was declared a dangerous offender and sentenced to an indeterminate term.

On appeal, the appellant challenged the admission of DNA evidence obtained through a saliva sample, arguing his Charter rights were violated.

He also challenged the trial judge's failure to preserve evidence and appealed his indeterminate sentence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed all grounds of appeal, finding no Charter violations in the DNA seizure, that the trial judge properly exercised her discretion regarding the destroyed evidence, and that the indeterminate sentence was appropriate given the appellant's high risk of reoffending and consistent refusal to engage in treatment.

The accused was charged with multiple counts of home invasion sexual assault dating back to 1985-1987.

After being discharged at a preliminary inquiry in 1989, the police kept the investigation open pending advancements in DNA technology.

A preferred indictment was eventually obtained in 2010 after DNA linked the accused to the crimes.

The accused brought an application for a stay of proceedings, arguing his s. 11(b) Charter right to be tried within a reasonable time was infringed by the 25-year delay.

The court found that while much of the delay was inherent time required for DNA science to evolve, there were 32 months of unreasonable delay attributable to the Crown and police.

The court granted the stay of proceedings.