Gursharn Gill

Criminal trial arising from allegations that a church pastor assaulted one complainant in a parking lot, sexually assaulted another adult congregant over several years, sexually exploited a younger congregant while she was 16 and 17, and sexually assaulted her by digital penetration on her 18th birthday.

The court applied the W.(D.) framework, rejected the accused’s evidence as disingenuous and unreliable, and accepted the complainants’ evidence in its material respects, including evidence of spiritual manipulation, grooming, controlling communications, and admissions made during a recorded confrontation.

The court held that implied consent had no application to a purported deliverance-based physical restraint, and found beyond a reasonable doubt that the complainants did not consent and that the accused knew of their non-consent.

Findings of guilt were entered on all counts.

The accused was sitting in a parked car when police blocked his vehicle and detained him.

After discovering loose cannabis and an outstanding committal warrant, police delayed advising the accused of the reasons for his detention and his right to counsel for nearly 30 minutes while they investigated the warrant, deliberately misleading him to maintain his compliance.

A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded a firearm.

The court found violations of sections 9, 10(a), and 10(b) of the Charter.

Although the search itself was lawful under the Cannabis Control Act, the court excluded the firearm under section 24(2) due to the serious, deliberate, and reckless nature of the police conduct in suspending the accused's rights.

The accused was charged with sexual assault following a party where the complainant consumed a significant amount of alcohol.

The complainant alleged she woke up to a sharp pain and briefly saw the accused at her feet before passing out again.

The court found the complainant's evidence unreliable due to her extreme intoxication, the dark room, and the brief duration of her observation.

The court also found her credibility compromised by prior inconsistent statements regarding text messages about a threesome and her account of her hospital visit.

The accused was acquitted as the Crown failed to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.