Charges against a Manitoba man accused of sexually assaulting a child have been stayed due to an unreasonable delay between the time he was charged and the scheduled end of the man’s trial.
It is the first criminal case in Manitoba tossed out due to delays since a Supreme Court ruling in 2016, but some worry it won't be the last.
The Supreme Court ruled in July, cases must be completed within 30 months between the time a charge is laid and the end of a trial.
The case in question stems back to October 2006 when a detective with the Winnipeg Police Service was first assigned to investigate sexual assault complaints made by a 16-year-old against the accused.
The complainant is the child of the accused's former common-law partner and can’t be identified.
The allegations are from between 1996 and 2003 when the complainant was between six and 12-years-old.
In his decision, Justice Robert Dewar noted a warrant for the arrest of the accused was submitted in February 2007, but that warrant wasn't submitted to the Winnipeg Police Service's court unit at that time.
According to court documents, the error wasn't noticed until June 2013 when a WPS Sergeant searched a police database for the accused's name on an unrelated manner.
Charges were authorized on July 30, 2013 and sworn on August 1, 2013.
Court documents show there's no record the WPS took steps to verify the address of the accused, who lived in a remote community in northern Manitoba, or forward the warrant to Thompson RCMP.
RCMP arrested the man on March 10, 2015, one-year and seven months after the charges were authorized. This was only after RCMP officers noticed a warrant against the accused in the police database after the man complained that he was the victim of sexual assault on an unrelated matter.
The trial was scheduled for April 2017, but defence lawyer Alex Steigerwald filed a delay motion in September 2016, because it would've been 44 months between the time the charge was laid and the conclusion of the trial.
The Crown attempted to get earlier trial dates, but none were available.
In his decision Justice Dewar wrote the delay "is simply too long and outweighs society's interest in having the case decided on its merits."
"In the very unique circumstances of this case, the charges against the accused are stayed."
A spokesperson for Manitoba Justice said defence lawyers have made 28 applications for a stay of proceedings on Criminal Code matters since the Supreme Court ruling in July.
Manitoba Justice said about half of those cases have been resolved with the delay motion either withdrawn by defence, dismissed by the court, the accused entering a guilty plea, or by the Crown staying the matter before the delay motion was heard.
Manitoba Justice said it’s working with Crown prosecutors, courts, police and defence counsel to ensure court cases move forward in a timely manner.
Manitoba Organization for Victim Assistance executive director Karen Wiebe said having a case dismissed on a delay motion would be devastating for a victim of any criminal offence.
Wiebe helps families of homicide victims and said she’s spoken with family members who are nervous the Supreme Court ruling could affect other cases.
“If anybody’s case was to be tossed in terms of a homicide it would be earth-shatteringly devastating,” said Wiebe. “It would be just as a devastating in a sexual assault case.”
In a written statement the Winnipeg Police Service said, “We just received this decision yesterday. We are currently reviewing our systems and processes in light of the decision.”
