ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE DATE: 2023 12 07 COURT FILE No.: 22-400033616 Toronto Region
BETWEEN:
HIS MAJESTY THE KING
— AND —
Eric James DALTON
Before Justice Cidalia C. G. Faria Heard on October 26 and 27, 2023 Reasons for Judgment released on December 7, 2023
Dylan Theriault-Harris....................................................................... counsel for the Crown Oleksiy Bykov……..………………………………..s. 486 counsel for Eric James Dalton The defendant Eric DALTON.................................................................. on his own behalf
Faria J.:
I. Overview
[1] Eric James Dalton is charged with assault for allegedly pushing the mother of his child, Di Huang, the evening of August 4, 2022, while in their residence in the city of Toronto.
[2] The Crown called the complainant and both arresting officers as witnesses. Mr. Dalton represented himself and testified in his own defence.
[3] Mr. Theriault-Harris for the Crown submits the court should accept the complainant’s evidence and find Mr. Dalton guilty. He submits her credibility is not undermined by her reluctance to participate in the original investigation nor is it damaged by minor inconsistencies he characterizes as illustrative of domestic violence experience.
[4] Mr. Dalton submits the complainant lied to the police and her evidence should be rejected, his evidence should be accepted, and he should be acquitted.
II. Issue & Legal Principles
[5] Assault is the intentional application of force by one person on another without their consent.
[6] At issue is whether Mr. Dalton pushed Ms. Huang. The determination of the issue relies on the court’s assessment of the credibility and reliability of each witness in this case.
[7] Credibility is a determination of whether a witness is speaking the truth as she/he/they believe it to be. Reliability is a determination of whether the witness’ evidence is accurate. A credible witness may give unreliable evidence. [1] There is a distinction between a finding of credibility and proof beyond a reasonable doubt. [2] The credibility and reliability of a witness must be “tested in the light of all the other evidence presented”. [3]
[8] I must consider internal consistency, consistency with previous accounts, the significance of any inconsistencies, a witness’ interest in the case’s outcome, if any, and whether an account is inherently logical.
[9] When assessing if the standard of proof has been met in a case involving competing evidence, I cannot simply compare each account and decide which account I believe. [4] I can believe or disbelieve a witness but can still be left with a reasonable doubt after considering all the evidence. Moreover, I can accept some, all, or none of a witness’ evidence. Frailties and/or inconsistencies in a witness’ evidence does not necessarily mean their evidence should be rejected. [5]
[10] The leading applicable case on credibility and guiding my analysis provides the following test: [6]
- First, if I accept Mr. Dalton’s evidence, I must acquit him.
- Second, even if I do not accept Mr. Dalton’s evidence, if it leaves me with a reasonable doubt, I must acquit him.
- Third, even if Mr. Dalton’s evidence does not raise a reasonable doubt, I must consider all the evidence to satisfy myself that the Crown has met its high burden and proven beyond a reasonable doubt all the essential elements of the offence.
[11] I also instruct myself that though the Defendant played portions of the complainant’s statement to the officers on scene to demonstrate inconsistencies, the statement also contained prior consistent statements. I must disabuse my mind of those prior consistent statements. Saying the same thing repeatedly does not make it true. [7]
III. Evidence and Analysis
[12] There is no dispute that Mr. Dalton met Ms. Huang in 2016 and they have a child together, Derek. On August 4, 2022, the parties lived together in Ms. Huang’s mother’s house in Toronto with their 3-year-old. That evening, after dinner, Mr. Dalton bathed Derek and then went to the backyard while Ms. Huang and her mother put the child to bed. Derek was crying and would not go to sleep. Ms. Huang conceded she spoke to the child louder than she normally does and was frustrated. She called Mr. Dalton into the house to put Derek to bed. Mr. Dalton came in and did so.
[13] From there their evidence diverges slightly.
[14] Ms. Huang testified that when Mr. Dalton came in, he was unusually angry and stormed into Derek’s room to put him to bed. She went into her own adjacent bedroom and locked her door. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Dalton banged loudly on her door several times. She was afraid this would disturb her son, and though she did not want to, she opened the bedroom door.
[15] Ms. Huang testified Mr. Dalton was at the door and told her “You don’t ever talk to my son again. Don’t touch him”. She remembered the exact words to be “You will never talk to my son again.” This confused her because she is the primary caregiver who takes Derek to daycare, cooks for him and cares for him, but did not voice her confusion.
[16] She testified Mr. Dalton was yelling very loudly and spit on her face as he yelled. She thought it may have been accidental, so she told him he was spitting on her, and he responded, “So what?”. Mr. Dalton then pushed her on the shoulders with both hands. Ms. Huang had to take a step back. She told Mr. Dalton not to push her and told him she would call 911.
[17] Ms. Huang testified she “had my phone in my hand ‘cause I always have my phone with me just in case.” Mr. Dalton then said “well, go ahead, call 911”. He was towering over her, pushed her away again and walked away. She testified she did not know which direction he went.
[18] Ms. Huang called 911, but the line was busy, and she hung up. About 5-10 minutes later the 911 operator called her back. As she was no longer in “imminent danger”, and “if the police were to attend that would be more triggering.” “It could cause more problem for me later”, she tried her best to tell the 911 operator “to just let it go” but was told the police were on their way. She waited for the police and went outside to meet the officers.
[19] When police arrived, Ms. Huang tried to “conceal what happened”.
[20] In cross-examination, and via the body-worn camera of Officer Jeffery Ip that was put into evidence via Officer Edward Dzingala, Ms. Huang told officers that Mr. Dalton did not live with her, that he was there for an appointment, and that she did not have his phone number.
[21] This was not true.
[22] When asked both in-chief and in cross-examination why she was not forthcoming with details to the officers and why she lied to the police, Ms. Huang testified:
- Mr. Dalton had “already left the house and I thought there was no more danger, no more imminent danger.”
- “That if the police were to attend that would just cause more problem for me later.”
- She did not want “anyone to be triggered, so that could cause more violence down the road or worse treatment for me.”
- She was scared if Mr. Dalton was taken away and not allowed to come back, she knew Mr. Dalton would be “very very angry with me. And so I was really scared”.
- She was fearful that if Mr. Dalton was arrested it would “put me in a worse situation after”.
- She was already living in fear.
- Reporting what happened “was going to put me and my son in aa very bad situation, that was my fear.”
[23] Ms. Huang testified very clearly she was afraid of Mr. Dalton. Additional indicators of fear were:
- She locked the door of the bedroom she went into.
- She did not want to open the door when Mr. Dalton banged on it.
- She did not want to be backed into the room where there would be no exit.
- She always had her cell phone “just in case”.
- She was confused about what Mr. Dalton was saying but did not voice her confusion.
[24] I also observed her to be short, with a slim build and of small stature. She was quite soft spoken. I observed Mr. Dalton to be much taller, broad shouldered, medium build who spoke loudly and confidently.
[25] Although she did not regret calling the police because she felt in danger at that moment as the situation was escalating, once Mr. Dalton left, she felt she was not in imminent danger and tried to “protect” him.
[26] Officer Ip testified:
- Ms. Huang was distraught in the driveway when he arrived.
- She physically demonstrated to the officers how Mr. Dalton pushed her.
- She did not want to provide further details.
- She admitted Mr. Dalton was home.
- She tried to assist the officers with finding Mr. Dalton a place to stay.
- Mr. Dalton was calm, but upset at the sight of the officers, a bit defiant, and did not want to be released on site if he had to stay elsewhere.
- Mr. Dalton’s position caused the officer to have safety concerns for Ms. Huang.
[27] Officer Dzingala testified:
- He observed Ms. Huang demonstrate the two-handed push on each shoulder.
- Ms. Huang first said Mr. Dalton had left, and then said he was in the residence.
- Ms. Huang said she would text Mr. Dalton, and when instructed not to, said she already had.
- Mr. Dalton exited the basement of the residence.
- Mr. Dalton was very cooperative and calm.
[28] I accept all the reasons Ms. Huang provided for calling the police, then being reluctant to speak to them, omitting facts and even lying.
[29] Her account was internally consistent about what happened, where it happened, how it happened, and what was said. Her evidence was logical, unadorned, and straight-forward. She forthrightly explained why she was reluctant to provide details to the officers and why she lied about why Mr. Dalton was there, where he went, and not having his phone number.
[30] Ms. Huang simply and directly articulated the essence of her victimization in a relationship of intimate partner violence. She tried to protect Mr. Dalton because she was afraid of him. Afraid to trigger him. Afraid she would make the situation worse. Afraid if he was arrested he would be angry with her. Afraid if he was taken away that he would be violent to her and her son in the future.
[31] Having been living in fear of Mr. Dalton, this was a logical, rational, reaction. The inconsistencies do not undermine her credibility or reliability and I accept her evidence.
[32] Mr. Dalton testified consistently with much of what Ms. Huang stated, but for pushing her.
[33] Mr. Dalton agreed:
- He was in the backyard and was called in to put Derek to bed.
- That after he did so, he knocked incessantly on her door until she opened it.
- When she did open the door, he was upset with her and confronted her.
- He was speaking loudly enough that he may have been spitting at her, as he is frequently told he spits.
- She did try to get around him, and he stopped her.
- She told him not to push her and she would call the police.
[34] Mr. Dalton testified he put his hand out to stop Ms. Huang because he believed she was going into Derek’s room. She then walked into his hand and had to step back.
[35] The reason Mr. Dalton was upset with Ms. Huang, was that he had heard her speaking to her mother loudly in Cantonese and to their son, and this, he believed had caused their son, who has autism, to regress.
[36] Mr. Dalton testified that when he went into Derek’s room to put him to bed, Derek was not responsive. He was not acknowledging his name, gazing off, and acting like a “doll”. Mr. Dalton snapped his fingers in front of Derek’s face, waved at him, and called his name louder and louder no avail.
[37] Mr. Dalton’s evidence is not credible. He made assumptions, was angry and but would not admit it, and illogically blamed the mother of his child for his child’s medical regression.
[38] For instance:
- Though Mr. Dalton does not understand Cantonese, he insisted the women were arguing.
- Though he said these “arguments” bother him, it did not that evening.
- Though he first said the “argument” that evening was like all the others, he then said it was “louder than usual” that evening, but it still did not bother him.
- Though these “arguments were a regular occurrence”, he blamed it as the trigger for his son’s regression.
- Though he believed that yelling had caused his son’s regression, he proceeded to yell at his son louder and louder.
- Though he was upset with Ms. Huang, he only spoke to her in a “stern” voice, however he spoke loudly enough to be spitting in her face.
- Though according to both parties Derek had quieted down, which is what Ms. Huang wanted, Ms. Huang was trying to go into the boy’s room as Mr. Dalton confronted her.
[39] I do not accept Mr. Dalton’s evidence that Ms. Huang walked into his hand and had to take a step back, and it does not raise a reasonable doubt.
[40] Neither do I have a reasonable doubt on the totality of the evidence I accept from Ms. Huang and the observations of both attending officers.
[41] I find Mr. Dalton was angry with Ms. Huang about their son’s response to him. He blamed her. As he berated her, she tried to walk past him, and he pushed her on the shoulders with both hands. When she told him not to and that she would call the police, he pushed her again and walked away.
IV. Conclusion
[42] I am satisfied the Crown has proven all the elements of the assault and I find Eric James Dalton guilty of charge.
Released: December 7, 2023 Signed: Justice Cidalia C. G. Faria
[1] R. v. Morrissey, [1995] O.J. No. 639 (C.A.) at para. 33; R. v. H.C., 2009 ONCA 56, [2009] O.J. No. 214 (C.A.) at para. 41 [2] R. v. J.J.R.D., [2006] O.J. No. 4749 (C.A.) at para. 47; R. v. J.W., [2014] O.J. No. 1979 (C.A.) at para. 26. [3] R. v. Stewart, [1994] O.J. No. 811 (C.A.) at para. 27 [4] R. v. Esquivel-Benitez, 2020 ONCA 160 [5] R. v. J.J.R.D. at paras. 46-48, leave to appeal to SCC. Refused, [2007] S.C.C.A. no. 69 [6] R. v. W.D. (1991), 63 CCC (3d) 397 (S.C.C.) 1 [7] R. v. D.C., 2019 ONCA 442 at paras. 19-23.