Court Information

Date: 2018-11-29 Toronto Region Ontario Court of Justice

Between: Her Majesty the Queen — and — Desmond Regis

Before: Justice L. Feldman

Reasons for Judgment released on: November 29, 2018

Counsel:

• B. Snow for the Crown
• M. Pierce for the accused Desmond Regis

FELDMAN J.:

Introduction

[1] Desmond Regis entered not guilty pleas to two counts of Assault and one of Threaten Death. It is alleged that in January 2017, during an argument with the complainant, Gail Ann Rampersad, his then wife, over her purported infidelity, the defendant grabbed her on two separate occasions, once by the back of her neck and later on her arm, in the latter case causing a bruise that, she says, was seen by her daughter. It is alleged, as well, that Mr. Regis threatened to kill the complainant's male friend visiting from Trinidad.

[2] The Crown called Ms. Rampersad and her daughter, Victoria, in support of its case. Mr. Regis testified in his own behalf. I must weigh the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses in making my findings of fact. I am mindful of the onus of proof on the Crown.

The Evidence

The Complainant's Testimony

[3] Ms. Rampersad is 43 years of age. She married the defendant in 1999. The marriage had been under strain since 2015 because of financial issues. She worked. He was in and out of work. They have three children, Victoria, age 17, David, age 16 and Emma, age 11. They are now divorced.

[4] Ms. Rampersad told the court that she separated from Mr. Regis in early Jan. 2017, although she permitted him to remain in the house because he could not afford to live on his own. She spoke of an incident in the first week of January during which she intervened in an argument between the defendant and Victoria. She says that, in response, Mr. Regis grabbed her by the neck and did not let go until her daughter begged him to do so.

[5] More specifically, the complainant testified that she was sitting on the couch when she spoke up as described. That led to an argument about the problems in their relationship. She says this caused an escalation that culminated in the defendant lunging at her and grabbing her neck with force. She then felt Victoria on top of her trying to protect her and begging her father to stop. The other two children were present, one of whom was crying. She believes the incident lasted about 3 minutes. There were no injuries. Nonetheless, she felt fear and went to her bedroom. She said the defendant told her that what took place was her fault.

[6] The complainant agrees this occurred shortly after her return from a Christmas holiday in Trinidad where she spent time with an old male friend, named Ron. Emma and David were with her. Emma messaged her father at one point about being improperly touched by the man's son, which upset the accused. This formed part of the argument that led to the above incident.

[7] Ms. Rampersad described another incident that occurred about a week later. She testified that the defendant lunged at her and squeezed her arm with force for several minutes in an effort to get her cell phone away from her, although she said in her police statement that he came up from behind. Mr. Regis wanted to check her phone calls. She said the defendant acted in anger and used a lot of force. He accused her of having an affair with Ron and threatened to finish both of them. Emma was crying and telling her father to stop.

[8] Ms. Rampersad told the court that her arm hurt from the assault and that she was left with bruising on her upper arm. Photographs were tendered as exhibits that show a significant bruise on the complainant's right arm above the elbow. Later that day she showed the bruise to her mother who, she says, told her that what the defendant did was wrong and that something worse would happen were she not to file a complaint with the police. It was only in cross-examination that she disclosed being encouraged to complain, as well, by Marco Ceci, a Durham police officer who was a friend and client with whom she had discussion about starting a business together in the hair replacement industry. She said his advice was not the deciding factor.

[9] While still at her mother's home, the complainant says that Mr. Regis called and threatened to come to her place of work to vent his anger. He also said that if he came across her Trinidadian friend he would knock him out. Ms. Rampersad says she was too afraid to go into work that day. She filed a complaint of assault with the police on Jan. 18. She claims the defendant has made subsequent threats to kill her and Ron, although she later told the court he did not use the word 'kill', only that she better not let him catch her with her friend.

[10] Ms. Rampersad says she told the accused the previous August that she had an emotional, but not intimate relationship with her friend. She is aware that Victoria gained access to her emails and texts to Ron and showed them to the defendant.

Victoria's Evidence

[11] After these events, Victoria lived with her father for 4-5 months. Victoria related to the court that she and her siblings were aware of their parents' rocky relationship. She says she was present when her father grabbed her mother's arm. She recalls that it occurred after her mother returned from the Christmas trip to Trinidad. She says her mother had told her in November that she had a boyfriend. Victoria met Ron at her home that month.

[12] Victoria felt her parents were both upset with each other, her father because of his wife's infidelity, her mother because she believed the defendant was building a case against her with her help after Victoria showed him her mother's email exchange with her male friend. She said that during the incident her father wanted her mother's phone and saw him grab her upper arm, she believes, for under a minute. She got in between them. She told her father to let go, which he did. Her brother and sister were present.

[13] She recalls her father got the phone but her mother tried to get it away from the defendant and struck him on his back. Both seemed angry. She said she noticed a bruise on her mother's arm about 3 weeks after this incident. A photograph taken by the police shortly after the event was tendered by the Crown. It shows a large bruise on the complainant's right upper arm. It is a reasonable inference on the evidence that the existence of the bruise was apparent soon after the incident. Victoria is likely mistaken in her recollection of the timing of her observation.

[14] While she was living with her father, Mr. Regis audiotaped a conversation with her about the incident. This took place after she had spoken to the police. Victoria told the court that he told her that her mother was at fault for what had occurred. In the audio, Victoria appears to be encouraged to say that her father did not grab her mother where the bruise developed, but rather closer to the shoulder. She says she meant in the upper arm close to the shoulder. That is not inconsistent with the bruise depicted in the photo. That the defendant would manipulate his daughter in this manner speaks to his character.

The Defendant's Testimony

[15] In his evidence, Mr. Regis says his marriage was intact until the complainant told him in the spring of 2016 that her feelings had changed. She was not open to counselling. He testified to having discussed his marital problems with Victoria who, he initially says came up with the idea of checking her mother's emails that led to the discovery of his wife's infidelity. He provided no details from this invasion of his wife's privacy, so that his assertion is self-serving and carries little weight. He later admitted encouraging Victoria to hack into his mother's emails, a selfish act indifferent to the alienating impact on his daughter.

[16] It would also appear that the complainant met Ron in New York City in November, although she told the defendant she was on a shopping trip with a friend, Heather. Mr. Regis is a former travel agent. He says his wife asked him to book her seat next to Heather which served to expose her lie. I don't accept his evidence. Ms. Rampersad did not strike me as so irrational as to facilitate the defendant's discovery of her ruse. I reject the defendant's evidence on this fact in issue. It makes no common sense. In addition, Mr. Regis's evidence that he was "trying to recall how exactly he found out" is disingenuous. I infer rather that he used his knowledge of the system to check up on the complainant behind her back because he was suspicious of her intentions.

[17] Ms. Rampersad visited her friend in Trinidad prior to Christmas. She took her two younger children, one of whom complained to her father of inappropriate behaviour toward her by Ron's son. On her return in early January, the defendant told the court that they argued over her infidelity and his daughter's troubling experience. He says he confronted her about bringing Ron to their home and threatened to expose her behaviour at her work place. He denies grabbing the complainant by the neck or by her arm causing a bruise.

[18] More specifically, he says he merely put his hand lightly on her shoulder to get her attention so that he could tell her to stop lying to him. When she would not return the phone he had given her, he snatched it out of her hand. He says his wife explained that her injury was the result of her bruising easily, although that was not put to her in cross-examination. On the evidence, I do not accept this self-serving assertion.

[19] Mr. Regis admits threatening to punch Ron out, but initially denied being jealous of his wife's affair with him. He agrees he was upset during the argument. He later agreed in cross-examination that jealousy and anger over a perceived betrayal by her clouded his judgment.

Credibility Findings

[20] I found the complainant to be generally credible and to have testified on the material allegations and the state of her marriage seemingly without embellishment. She tended, however, to minimize the nature of her relationship with her Trinidadian friend and was dishonest with her husband about the reason for her trip to New York City. She appeared to confuse which of the alleged assaults was stopped by Victoria's intervention. She was unclear if the alleged threat was to kill or cause bodily harm and seemed to shift her position from her original statement. However, her credibility with regard to the grabbing of her arm was enhanced by the police photo of the bruise and by the evidence of her daughter.

[21] I found Victoria to have been the most objectively reliable witness in this proceeding. She was regrettably caught up in the middle of her parents' conflict, but was straightforward in her evidence. She was clear about the unwanted grabbing of her mother's arm and having seen the bruise depicted in the exhibit. That she was inaccurate about the timing of her observation may be attributed to her age and the passage of time. It does not derogate from her clarity on the assault itself and serves to support the complainant's evidence in this regard.

[22] I would not rely on the defendant's testimony. On this evidence, I infer that Mr. Regis's behaviour was fueled by jealousy and anger at his wife's rejection and seeming infidelity, despite his reluctance to concede such emotions until pressed in cross-examination. In similar vein, his anger led him to threaten to expose her infidelity at her workplace, thoughtless about the consequences for the family's sole breadwinner.

[23] It reflects on the defendant's character that he would invade his wife's privacy by irresponsibly encouraging her own daughter to hack into her mother's emails, indifferent to the emotional harm visited on her. His controlling nature was evident in his use of inside information to check up on Ms. Rampersad's seating arrangement on the plane to New York. I was unimpressed with his prevarication on how he found out. I don't accept that he did so at the complainant's request, one that was against her own interests.

[24] As well, I reject as self-serving, the defendant's evidence that the complainant explained the injury to her arm as a result of her bruising easily, an assertion not put to Ms. Rampersad in cross-examination, in the same manner I reject as contrived his testimony that he merely touched his wife's shoulder to get her attention, a suggestion belied by the evidence of Victoria and the police photo.

[25] Despite some reliability concerns in the complainant's evidence, her complaint of an assault resulting in a significant bruise on her arm is buttressed by other objective evidence. I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the essential elements of that offence are made out. There will be a finding of guilt on that count.

[26] I take a different view of the remaining allegations where there is no corroboration, in addition to some uncertainty on the complainant's part, for example, regarding the nature of the alleged threat. The other counts will be dismissed.

Released: November 29, 2018

Signed: "Justice L. Feldman"