Stacey Hamilton

The Crown brought an application to admit a video-recorded statement of a deceased complainant into evidence at a trial for fraud and uttering forged documents.

The complainant, an elderly person who required personal support workers, alleged that the accused made unauthorized bank withdrawals.

The court applied the principled exception to the hearsay rule, finding that while the necessity requirement was met due to the complainant's death, threshold reliability was not established.

The court noted concerns with the complainant's memory, the leading nature of the interview questions, and a prior inconsistent complaint to police involving another worker.

The application was dismissed.

The accused was charged with sexual assault.

The complainant died prior to trial, and her evidence from the preliminary inquiry was admitted under s. 715 of the Criminal Code.

The core issue was whether the accused stopped sexual intercourse when the complainant withdrew her consent.

Applying the W.(D.) test for credibility, the court rejected the accused's evidence and accepted the complainant's version of events.

The accused was found guilty.

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.