Friday, December 22, 2006

Justice Allbright, First Judgement - March 11, 2004

R. V. V. (F.S.)

QB04086
Date of Judgment: March 11, 2004
Number of Pages: 16
March 11, 2004 - Mr. Justice G.N. Allbright

[F. S. V.] v. Her Majesty the Queen - Y.O.A. 12/03 - J.C.M.

Robert L. Borden for the appellant young offender, [F.S.V.]
Gary J. Parker for the respondent Crown

These proceedings involve an appeal by an individual charged under The Young Offenders Act. The trial of the matter proceeded on November 25, 26 and 27, 2002, and the court delivered a decision on December 10, 2002. At p. 401 of the transcript from the trial proceedings, particularly on the date of November 27, 2002 the learned Youth Court judge made the following comments:

Before we get to a date, I would give out a reminder that Mr. [F.S.V.] is charged as a Young Offender, and therefore evidence cannot be published which would tend to reveal his identity. And likewise the complainant, because this is a sexual assault under the provisions of Section 486(4), her identity as well must be protected in any publication or broadcast.

On the occasion of the hearing of the appeal in the Court of Queen's Bench in Melfort on March 2, I indicated that the learned Youth Court judge's orders prohibiting publication of matters as noted, were to be continued.

I turn now to the substantive appeal.

[F.S.V.] was charged under The Young Offenders Act that:

. . .between the 6th day of June, 1997, and the 17th day of September, 2001, at the Star City District, in the Province of Saskatchewan, being a young person within the meaning of the Young Offenders Act, did on numerous occasions commit a sexual assault on [C.V.], contrary to section 271 of the Criminal Code.

Six witnesses were called on behalf of the Crown during the trial, and the defence called two witnesses. The primary Crown witness was the complainant [C.V.]. The appellant, [F.S.V.] also testified. As part of the Crown's case, a videotape of the statement of [C.V.] was also entered into evidence. In addition to the viva voce evidence, a number of tapes and other items were entered as exhibits at the trial.

The Court reserved judgment and on December 10, 2002 the learned Youth Court judge found the accused (the appellant herein) guilty of having committed a sexual assault.

On January 27, 2003 the learned Youth Court judge imposed sentence on the appellant and at that time the appellant was placed on a period of probation for 18 months with various conditions.

The appellant brings this appeal pursuant to s. 27(1.1) of The Young Offenders Act and s. 813 of the Criminal Code of Canada and sets forth the following ground of appeal:

The learned trial judge misinterpreted evidence, ignored relevant evidence, considered irrelevant or inadmissible evidence, and made a decision that was contrary to the weight of evidence and contrary to law.

The notice of appeal requests that the conviction be set aside.

The decision of the learned Youth Court judge in its entirety provides as follows:

THE COURT: This is the [V.] matter, adjourned to today's date for decision. I'm ready to proceed with that now.

[F.S.V.] stands charged that between the 6th day of June, 1997, and the 17th day of September, 2001, at the Star City District, in the Province of Saskatchewan, being a young person within the meaning of the Young Offenders Act, did on numerous occasions commit a sexual assault on [C.V.], contrary to section 271 of the Criminal Code.

The complainant and the accused in these proceedings are sister and brother. The complainant testified that her brother, [F.S.V.], did sex with her lots of times. She testified that she sucked his penis lots of times. She says his penis would get harder and stronger when she would suck it. [F.S.V.] would say, it feels good. The complainant testified that she would suck [F.S.V.]'s penis until she tasted something really funny and then she would stop. She said, it tasted gross and salty and that it was whiteish. [C.V.] testified that sometimes [F.S.V.] would put his penis in her hole. She says that "when he did sex, sometimes it hurted in the hole". She says, "I don't know what it is called between my legs". She says that when they finished she would wipe off her pants with a cloth and put it in the dirty clothes.

The children's mother, [R.V.], testified that when she taught her children about sex education, she used the word "hole" instead of "vagina" because of their limited cognitive abilities.

A videotaped statement by [C.V.] made on September 19, 2001, was tendered into evidence. In this statement the complainant states that her brother, [F.S.V.], and her did sex sometimes when her mother wasn't home. When asked what happened when they did sex, she said that they kissed and stuff, "I sucked his penis". While there are references to actual sexual intercourse in the videotape, it is not clear from the context of the questions and the answers whether she is saying actual physical intercourse took place or not.

While the Court finds that the complainant's statements on the videotape concerning sexual activities with [F.S.V.] are credible and consistent with what she testified to at trial, the Court is quite skeptical about some of the other statements in the videotape, particularly in the latter part of the tape where the Court finds some of the questions to be somewhat leading and suggestive and often lacking in context.

It is the Court's view that the prosecution's case rests entirely on the testimony and the videotaped statement of [C.V.]. The evidence of other Crown witness [sic] and even that of defence witness, [R.V.], provide some context for events, but their evidence is as easily consistent with no sexual activity having taken place as with such sexual activities.

The Court finds the complainant's evidence convincing and compelling. The weaknesses in the complainant's comprehension and understanding of events is what gives her testimony its strength. The Court is convinced that [C.V.] did in fact experience the sexual activity she describes. These were not events she heard about or saw in movies. They were not part of some sexual fantasy. The nature and details of her description convinces me that it was formed from personal experience. The Court is also convinced that the sexual activity she described took place with [F.S.V.]. [C.V.] does not appear traumatized by this experience. She appears for the most part to be a willing participant. She was not bashful or embarrassed when talking about it. In fact I believe she does not have an appreciation that [F.S.V.] may have done something seriously wrong or illegal and that he is in serious trouble. [C.V.] does not understand the seriousness of these allegations or their potential consequences. It was just something that they did that she knew they weren't supposed to do. She appears to like [F.S.V.] and simply stated what they did innocently and in a forthright and straightforward manner. She says that when she told her father what they did or what they were doing, he told her she shouldn't be doing that because it's illegal. This is not drawing a definitive conclusion on what her father may have said, but it is a description of what [C.V.] says he said. Another example of her innocence about all this is when she asked the police officer, "if we do this again, should we tell you guys?".

As previously stated, [C.V.] and [F.S.V.] are sister and brother. They are the adopted children of [D.V] (ph) and [R.V.]. The [V.] have five other children, [A.V. 1] (ph), age 22 and [A.V. 2] , age 17, who are their natural-born children, and three other adopted children, [D.V.], [A.V. 3] (ph) and [O.V.] (ph). If I understand the evidence correctly, [F.S.V.], [A.V. 3], [C.V.] and [O.V.] all have the same birth mother. The evidence indicates that all of the adopted children suffer from alcohol-related neurological development defects to some degree.

The Court finds [R.V.] to be a well-educated, highly-competent and intelligent witness and accepts her evidence that in 2001, at age 16, [F.S.V.] was functioning at a grade six level and that [C.V.], at age 13, was functioning at the level of a six-year-old and at an early grade one level. Also, that [C.V.] required a lot of supervision to avoid problems, that she was easily led, that she was basically a high-maintenance child. The fact that she has been in four different foster homes since September 11, 2001, attest to the fact that [C.V.] was not an easy child to raise and look after. A lack of judgment as suggested by Dr. McKenna is also evident in what is going on here.

However, the fact that [C.V.] has development problems does not in an of itself make her evidence untrustworthy. Looking at her evidence in the context that she has previously described convinces me that it was factual, honest and truthful. Considering the three-year age differential between [F.S.V.] and [C.V.], and considering the provisions of section 150.1(1)(2) of the Criminal Code, even though the Court considers the sexual activity between [F.S.V.] and [C.V.] to be primarily consensual, consent is not a defence to these charges.

The complainant was not very concrete with the timeline concerning when these sexual activities took place. However, it is clear from her evidence that most of the sexual activity took place in the year or two immediately preceding September 19, 2001.

A statement given by the accused to a police officer was tendered in evidence with the consent of the defence. The prosecution has suggested to the Court that it could draw an adverse inference from the accused's refusal to answer a particular question. In his statement the accused answered a few of the questions put to him by a police officer, but he refused to answer most, asserting that he was not answering the questions because his lawyer wasn't present. It is the Court's view that to draw an adverse inference from the accused's refusal to answer a particular question would totally defeat the accused's right to remain silent, a right incidentally that the police officer doing the interviews told the accused he had a right to exercise before he even started asking the accused any questions.

The accused testified in these proceedings. He categorically denied being involved in any sexual activity with [C.V.] or anyone else. He says he didn't have sexual intercourse with [C.V.], that [C.V.] never sucked his penis. He says that [C.V.] and [A.V. 3] always wore their clothes at night, a fact that is confirmed by Mrs. [R.V.] and [A.V.]. [F.S.V.] says that at night [C.V.] would come in his room and crawl in his bed and they would kick her out. Mrs. [R.V.] also confirms that [C.V.] was a wanderer at night and would try and crawl in bed with the boys and they would have to send her back to her room. This is unusual behaviour that is taken into account, but it does not detract from the complainant's evidence about the sexual activities.

In the final analysis, the Court finds beyond a reasonable doubt that [F.S.V.] was involved in sexual activities with his sister, [C.V.], on a number of occasions. The evidence does not establish how often or over how long a period of time. It does establish, however, that it took place within a timeframe when, even if it was consented to, it was an illegal act and constitutes a sexual assault. In making this finding, the Court is obviously rejecting the evidence of [F.S.V.]. There was nothing in [F.S.V.]'s evidence, independent of [C.V.]'s evidence, whereby the Court could say that [F.S.V.]'s evidence is untrue.

What the Court is saying is that it believes [C.V.]'s evidence, and therefore, on that basis, disbelieves [F.S.V.]'s evidence. The Court says further that in addition to disbelieving [F.S.V.]'s testimony, the evidence of the defence in this case does not raise a reasonable doubt in the Court's mind. Further, there is nothing in the evidence in this case that raises a reasonable doubt in the Court's mind.

The Court must therefore find the accused has committed a sexual assault and the Court must find him therefore guilty as charged.

On the occasion of the hearing of the appeal counsel for the appellant applied to introduce fresh evidence as part of the appeal.

Section 683 of the Criminal Code dealing with appeals on indictable offences provides an appellate court with the jurisdiction to admit "fresh evidence" where it is appropriate to do so.

The Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Palmer, [1980] 1 S.C.R. 759 considered the principles upon which fresh evidence should be admitted. The court concluded that the following criteria must be met:

(1) The evidence should generally not be admitted if by due diligence it could have been adduced at trial, although this principle is not applied with the same strictness in a criminal trial as in a civil trial;

(2) The evidence must be relevant in that it bears upon a decisive or potentially decisive issue;

(3) The evidence must be credible; and

(4) It must be such that if believed, it could have affected the result.

I am of the view that in this instance the appellant must meet these criteria if the fresh evidence is to be admitted and considered by the court.

The essence of the "fresh evidence" comes from the report of Dr. [T.Z.], a psychologist involved in child and family counselling. Dr. [T.Z.] in September of 2002 interviewed the complainant [C.V.] along with other individuals.

As part of her overall report Dr. [T.Z.] chronicled information provided to her by the complainant. A portion of that interview as contained in the report provides as follows:

[C.V.] reported that she likes music, television, biking, and "guys". She appeared preoccupied with finding a boyfriend and frequently discussed going out with boys or watching boys who are "sexy" or "hot". She said that she has been spending considerable time with "Willy," an older man she has been meeting who sits on a bench in the business district of her town. She appeared to enjoy the attentions of this man, saying that he gives her candy and "acts nice." We discussed issues of personal safety, but [C.V.] had difficulty appreciating the inherent dangers of such a situation. Ms. Holmen was advised to monitor this carefully and discuss the situation with local R.C.M.P.

Her naiveté regarding personal safety and others' intentions became more clear when she described an incident during which she met a young man at a Saskatoon swimming pool. He invited her to come with him to "get snacks," and the two reportedly left the swimming pool on his bicycle. According to [C.V.], they went to a park by the river and then, she said, "He had sex with me." [C.V.] said that she was surprised but thought that she should do what he told her to do and "just get it over with." She said that when [F.S.V.] would have sex with her, that is what she would tell herself - "Just get it over with." [C.V.] said that after the sex was over, the man from the pool "saw some of his friends and said he had to go." She said she knew the sex was over when his "white stuff" came out. He then reportedly left her by the river to walk back to the pool on her own.

As noted, Dr. [T.Z.] interviewed [C.V.] on September 7 and September 21, 2002. Her report was completed on December 22, 2002 and she provided that report to the Department of Social Services by fax on December 23, 2002. Shortly thereafter the report was provided to Crown counsel and Mr. Parker immediately provided it to Mr. Borden on behalf of the appellant. The date of the report is significant and the preparation of that report in that the report was completed following the decision of the learned Youth Court judge on December 10, 2002. However, prior to sentencing, it had been provided to counsel for the appellant. I am advised at the time of sentencing no reference was made to the report or the information contained in it.

It is the position of the appellant that this information is germane and relevant to the testimony of the complainant. Counsel for the appellant contends that had this information been available to counsel at the time of the trial, that the learned Youth Court judge's adjudication on the matters of credibility, particularly the credibility of the complainant and the accused "would have been" or "might have been" different. It is the position of the appellant that the four criteria for the admissibility of fresh evidence have been met and that such fresh evidence should be allowed as part of the substantive appeal such as to warrant the appeal being allowed and the conviction set aside.

It is the position of the Crown that the findings of the learned Youth Court judge were very specific and that this information in all likelihood would not have been admissible in any event and even if it were found to be admissible, would not have had any material effect on the outcome of the trial. It is the Crown's position that the adjudication of the learned Youth Court judge would have been the same in any event and the Crown asks that the appeal be dismissed.

I want to deal briefly with the appeal, if the appeal were to be dealt with in the absence of the fresh evidence, or if the "fresh evidence" were not admitted as part of the substantive appeal.

From a careful reading of the learned Youth Court judge's adjudication, it is clear that he had carefully reviewed all of the evidence before him and I am of the view that he carefully chose the wording to express his findings and ultimate conclusion.

During part of his judgment, the learned Youth Court judge comments in the following fashion:

While the Court finds that the complainant's statements on the videotape concerning sexual activities with [F.S.V.] are credible and consistent with what she testified to at trial, the Court is quite skeptical about some of the other statements in the videotape, particularly in the latter part of the tape where the Court finds some of the questions to be somewhat leading and suggestive and often lacking in context.

It is the Court's view that the prosecution's case rests entirely on the testimony and the videotaped statement of [C.V.]. The evidence of other Crown witness [sic] and even that of defence witness, [R.V.], provide some context for events, but their evidence is as easily consistent with no sexual activity having taken place as with such sexual activities.

The Court finds the complainant's evidence convincing and compelling. The weaknesses in the complainant's comprehension and understanding of events is what gives her testimony its strength. The Court is convinced that [C.V.] did in fact experience the sexual activity she describes. These were not events she heard about or saw in movies. They were not part of some sexual fantasy. The nature and details of her description convinces me that it was formed from personal experience. The Court is also convinced that the sexual activity she described took place with [F.S.V.]. . . .

The learned Youth Court judge further comments at p. 7 as follows:

In the final analysis, the Court finds beyond a reasonable doubt that [F.S.V.] was involved in sexual activities with his sister, [C.V.], on a number of occasions. The evidence does not establish how often or over how long a period of time. It does establish, however, that it took place within a timeframe when, even if it was consented to, it was an illegal act and constitutes a sexual assault. In making this finding, the Court is obviously rejecting the evidence of [F.S.V.]. There was nothing in [F.S.V.]'s evidence, independent of [C.V.]'s evidence, whereby the Court could say that [F.S.V.]'s evidence is untrue.

What the Court is saying is that it believes [C.V.]'s evidence, and therefore, on that basis, disbelieves [F.S.V.]'s evidence. The Court says further that in addition to disbelieving [F.S.V.]'s testimony, the evidence of the defence in this case does not raise a reasonable doubt in the Court's mind. Further, there is nothing in the evidence in this case that raises are reasonable doubt in the Court's mind.

The Court must therefore find the accused has committed a sexual assault and the Court must find him therefore guilty as charged.

The information alleged that the sexual assault occurred on numerous occasions between the 6th day of June, 1997 and the 17th day of September, 2001.

The context of Dr. [T.Z.]'s report does not suggest when the complainant [C.V.] indicates that the events which are referenced in Dr. [T.Z.]'s report and quoted earlier herein, occurred. What is clear is that they occurred prior to the interview of September 7 and 21, 2002 and prior to the complainant testifying at the appellant's trial later in the fall of 2002.

The learned Youth Court judge's decision is precise and thorough. From my reading of the transcript, it was clearly open to him based upon the evidence which he heard, to reach the conclusions set forth in his judgment. Essentially he considered it to be a matter of credibility, with the two primary witnesses being the complainant and the appellant. He specifically rejected the evidence of the appellant and accepted that of the complainant. He set forth cogent reasons as to why he accepted the evidence of the complainant, but did note that: "there was nothing in [F.S.V.]'s evidence, independent of [C.V.]'s evidence, whereby the Court could say that [F.S.V.]'s evidence is untrue." His judgment reflects his conclusion that the complainant had undergone an involvement in sexual activities, for without such involvement she would not have been able to testify in the fashion in which she did. The evidence before the learned Youth Court judge suggested that such experience must have been experiences which involved the appellant. It is difficult to speculate what his assessment of credibility would have been had there been another possibility for the source of the complainant's knowledge of sexual matters as reflected by her description of the sexual activity.

It is precisely this point which the appellant contends would have made or might have made a difference to the learned Youth Court judge, had the statements of the complainant to Dr. [T.Z.] been known to the defence at the time of the trial, and had the defence been in a position to cross-examine the complainant in relation to these matter. In other words it is the position of the appellant that the critical task of assessing credibility might well have been different had there been an alternate explanation for some of the evidence provided by the complainant.

In this matter of course, the learned Youth Court judge did not have any of the proposed "fresh evidence" and reached a decision based upon all of the information before him. In my view the conclusions he reached were reasonable based upon the evidence before him and he of course had the distinct advantage of observing the demeanor of all of the witnesses, and most particularly the complainant and the appellant. Thereafter, he articulated reasons based upon the evidence and reached his conclusion.

In the absence of any "fresh evidence" I would not have been persuaded that the appellant had demonstrated a basis to set aside the conviction, and I would have dismissed the appeal.

However the matter of the fresh evidence is in my view significant. This is so in light of the nature of the comments of the learned Youth Court judge, made during his assessment of credibility. Had the defence been able to cross-examine the complainant in relation to the matters disclosed to Dr. [T.Z.], it may or may not have ultimately altered his view of the evidence, and more particularly, his views on credibility. However I am of the view that it had the potential to make a difference depending upon the nature of the questions asked and the responses provided to those questions by the complainant. At the end of that process the learned Youth Court judge might well have reached a similar conclusion to that which he ultimately did, or he might well have concluded that the evidence was capable of raising a reasonable doubt on the matter of credibility. That would of course have been for the learned Youth Court judge to determine.

In conducting this analysis I have assumed that the fresh evidence would be available for the trier of fact, in this case the learned Youth Court judge. That evidence of course may well not be admissible against the backdrop of s. 276 of the Criminal Code in any event. Section 276 provides as follows:

276.(1) In proceedings in respect of an offence under section ... 171 ... evidence that the complainant has engaged in sexual activity, whether with the accused or with any other person, is not admissible to support an inference that, by reason of the sexual nature of that activity, the complainant

(a) is more likely to have consented to the sexual activity that forms the subject-matter of the charge; or;

(b) is less worthy of belief.

(2) In proceedings in respect of an offence referred to in subsection (1), no evidence shall be adduced by or on behalf of the accused that the complainant has engaged in sexual activity other than the sexual activity that forms the subject-matter of the charge, whether with the accused or with any other person, unless the judge, provincial court judge or justice determines, in accordance with the procedures set out in sections 276.1 and 276.2, that the evidence

(a) is of specific instances of sexual activity;

(b) is relevant to an issue at trial; and

(c) has significant probative value that is not substantially outweighed by the danger of prejudice to the proper administration of justice.

(3) In determining whether evidence is admissible under subsection (2), the judge, provincial court judge or justice shall take into account

(a) the interests of justice, including the right of the accused to make a full answer and defence;

(b) society's interest in encouraging the reporting of sexual assault offences;

(c) whether there is a reasonable prospect that the evidence will assist in arriving at a just determination in the case;

(d) the need to remove from the fact-finding process any discriminatory belief or bias;

(e) the risk that the evidence may unduly arouse sentiments of prejudice, sympathy or hostility in the jury;

(f) the potential prejudice to the complainant's personal dignity and right of privacy;

(g) the right of the complainant and of every individual to personal security and to the full protection and benefit of the law; and

(h) any other factor that the judge, provincial court judge or justice considers relevant.

In attempting to introduce this evidence as part of the trial proper, counsel for the appellant would be required to bring an application pursuant to s. 276.1 and the Youth Court would then convene a hearing under s. 276.2. At that stage, the trial court would consider the provisions of s. 276 and the relevant jurisprudence and make a determination of whether or not the sexual activity in question could become the subject of evidence. That process again would be for the learned Youth Court judge to undertake.

While for the purposes of this appeal and the consideration of the "fresh evidence", I am assuming that following the application under s. 276.1 and the hearing under s. 276.2 that the evidence would be found to be admissible, my assumption, for such analysis purposes, should in no way be taken as a determination that such evidence would be, or should be, or is admissible for the purpose as proposed by the appellant. My assumption is made simply to define the parameters of the potential impact of the evidence as proposed by the appellant.

What then is the potential effect of the proposed "fresh evidence", if it were to be admitted?

As an appellate Court, I did not have the benefit of observing the demeanor of the two key witnesses, however in light of the very specific findings and comments on credibility made by the learned Youth Court judge I am persuaded that there is at least a reasonable possibility that, if the evidence were found to be admissible, and if such evidence were believed by the trial court, it "could have affected the result".

In considering the criteria in R. v. Palmer, supra, I have concluded that the appellant has met the four criteria. I am satisfied that at the time of judgment, the evidence was not known to counsel for the appellant, nor was there any reason for counsel to believe that the proposed evidence might exist. While it came into the possession of counsel prior to the sentencing, the learned Youth Court judge had, based upon the evidence before him, rendered his judgment on December 10, 2002. Secondly, the evidence has a degree of relevance in that it could be said to have a bearing on a potentially decisive issue, that being the issue of credibility. Thirdly, the evidence must be credible, and in this instance the evidence contained in the report of Dr. [T.Z.] is evidence which comes directly from the complainant. Fourthly and finally, as noted, the evidence must be such that if believed it could have affected the result. I have commented on this earlier.

Accordingly, I have concluded that the fresh evidence should be admitted to be considered as part of the evidence forming the substantive appeal, and I am of the view that in light of the fresh evidence, the conviction should be set aside and a new trial ordered. As I have pointed out, it will be for the learned Youth Court judge to consider the admissibility of the evidence in question and ultimately canvass all of the relevant and admissible evidence at the new trial.

Order accordingly.


J.

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