Northern Peninsula man convicted of sexually assaulting grandson is acquitted of sex assaults against granddaughters

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CORNER BROOK, N.L. — A Northern Peninsula man charged with sexually assaulting three of his granddaughters was acquitted in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in Corner Brook recently because of inconsistencies in the complainants’ testimony.

But the decision of Justice George Murphy didn’t sit well with the three complainants and their mother.

After Murphy left the courtroom in December, the mother lashed out at the man, whose identity cannot be published due to a court-ordered publication ban put in place to protect the identity of the complainants.

Yelling expletives at him to "rot in hell," the woman said, “God will have you,” and made reference to no one saving him.

One of the girls looked at the man’s supporters and said, “wait till it f—king happens to your kids, too.”

The incidents that led to the man being charged were alleged to have occurred on different occasions from January 2007 to September 2016.

They involve allegations the man fondled and licked the girls’ vaginas and that he tried to get them to touch his penis.

As Murphy acquitted the man of the charges against him involving each of the girls, he noted the differences in some of the testimonies and statements given to police.

He referred to one girl saying the man had sexual intercourse with another of the girls, while that girl said no intercourse had occurred.

Murphy said the third victim was the most credible, but he was concerned with how much may have been said to her by her mother and sisters before she spoke to a social worker and the police.

He said the accused was not a compelling witness and he did not believe all of his testimony.

In each case, Murphy said he was not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of the guilt of the accused. He followed each finding of not guilty by saying his conclusion does not mean that nothing inappropriate occurred.

“Instead, it simply means that I am not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of the guilt of the accused in respect of those counts.”

While the charges involving his granddaughters resulted in acquittals, the man is still facing a sentencing hearing for a conviction on a charge of sexual interference involving a grandson.

He was convicted of the charge by Justice Daniel Boone on Dec. 2.

The man had been charged with sexual interference and sexual assault of the boy. In his written decision released after the appearance, Boone said the Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt the man had committed the offences.

Because the sexual assault charge arose out of the same facts as the sexual interference charge, Boone applied the Kienapple principle to them and the sexual assault charge was stayed.

The incident that led to the charges occurred between June 2014 and January 2015 when the man and his grandson shared the same bed during an overnight visit to the home of a relative. 

The boy, now 15, testified he awoke during the night to find his grandfather had his hand down his pyjama pants. He grabbed the boy’s penis and started pulling on it.

The boy said this went on for about five minutes until he moved away and rolled onto his stomach. His grandfather then removed his hand and both went to sleep.

Later he awoke again to the same thing. This time the incident lasted less than a minute until he got up and left the room.

He said he was confused by the incident.

He told his grandmother about what happened and said she laughed and told him his grandfather probably thought it was her he had been touching.

The boy never told anyone else about the incident for some time. He said his grandfather apologized for having touched him about a month after.

The grandfather, who testified he had been drinking that night, denied the allegations and said he didn’t recall any tension the next day. 

In his decision, Boone said he did not credit or believe the denial expressed by the grandfather.

“His lack of memory of the night during which the offence allegedly occurred is an insufficient basis on which to acquit him as it does not raise a reasonable doubt as to his guilt,” he wrote. 

The man will be back in court for submissions on sentencing Jan. 20.

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