Two acquitted in Rosetown sexual assault trials

By Ian MacKay

Two people received not guilty verdicts during the provincial court session at the Elks hall on Thursday.

The identities of both females who accused them of sexual assault are protected by a publication ban. One of the males was a youth whose trial concluded that day. The trial of the other, 41, started on Nov. 13 and continued on Dec. 11 and Feb. 12.

Judge Miguel Martinez said that although he didn't conclude the 41-year-old's testimony to be "particularly credible," there were too many inconsistencies among statements to police and the testimony he heard to be certain the accused was guilty of any charges. He had also faced charges of dangerous driving, assault and touching a girl for a sexual purpose on Oct. 20, 2024.

He was accused of sexually assaulting the girl by reaching into her panties and touching her upper thigh and groin area while she was in bed, upset at not getting a treat. However, she had told a police officer the day after the alleged incident that he blew on her chest, but she didn't remember that during the trial, the judge said.

She also admitted that she was "confused and got mixed up" while testifying, the judge said. That and the man's denials on the witness stand caused him to have "reasonable doubt," he explained.

There were wide variations in testimony about the man's driving from passengers in the car he had driven to Rosetown earlier that day, and they hadn't mentioned the driving in statements to police, the judge said.

One witness estimated the accused had reached speeds from 160 to 200 kilometres per hour but testified he couldn't see the speedometer from his position in the back seat and couldn't remember if he had worked with the accused that weekend, the judge said.

The light slapping of a woman's face just before leaving the home was "too trivial" to convict him of assault, the judge said.

In the case that concluded that day, Judge Martinez decided that it was unlikely the boy had touched a young woman's breasts on two separate occasions in full view of several others who had been found and were "out," standing against a nearby wall while playing a game similar to hide and seek.

He said he had no reason to disbelieve the complainant, who testified that he had touched her breasts twice, and her friend, who said she had seen one incident. However, Judge Martinez said he also "do not completely disbelieve the accused," who said neither incident happened, which "leaves me in some doubt." The complainant testified that he had grabbed her breasts and moved her out of a hiding spot.

Crown prosecutor Tom O'Hara had argued that two witnesses had testified he had touched the complainant's breasts and that the friend "wasn't shaken" from her position under cross-examination.

"It's something that happens to almost every girl at some point - they're going to get groped," O'Hara said.

Judge Martinez also fined a youth $500 and banned him from driving for a year after the boy pleaded guilty to driving with an illegal blood alcohol level. Police stopped the youth near Rosetown on March 28 after noticing a vehicle swerving "a little bit," O'Hara said. The accused later registered two readings of .130, he said.

"I'm sorry; I won't do it again," the youth said.

Jason W. Glass, 40, of Calgary was fined $200 after he pleaded guilty as the registered owner, through an agent speaking by phone, to going 125 km/h near Harris on Feb. 20.

The judge fined Brett D. J. Badrock, 18, of Dundurn $180 instead of $200 for speeding after the accused first pleaded not guilty. Badrock said he was going 115 km/h rather than the 125 his vehicle registered on police radar near Harris on Feb. 27.

Ryan Kennon, 45, of Rosetown must pay $150 for driving without a valid licence near Rosetown on Sept. 28, 2024.

Balwinder S. Ghai, 53, of Saskatoon was fined $150 instead of $196 for going 125 km/h near Rosetown on Nov. 3.