Man who allegedly sexually assaulted daughter stands trial

A southeastern Manitoba man was on trial for charges related to the alleged sexual assault of his 11- year-old daughter while they slept in the same bed.

Steinbach court held a three-day trial from Nov. 25 to Nov. 27 for a 38-year-old man, who was charged with sexual assault and sexual interference from March 7, 2020 to Nov. 1, 2022.

The man pleaded not guilty to both counts.

“Ultimately, the Crown would submit that this high burden has been met in this case, and as such, the accused should be found guilty of all counts on the information,” Crown prosecutor Caitlin Hentig told provincial court Judge Michael Clark in her closing arguments.

The Carillon can’t identify the victim or the accused due to a publication ban.

Hentig played a video recording of the girl’s statement to the RCMP on Feb. 5, 2023 for the court.

The video showed an RCMP officer speaking with the girl, who was eight-years-old at the time. In the statement, the girl described how her two siblings and her would take turns sleeping in their dad’s bed. While lying in bed, she said her dad would touch her vagina while they both had clothes on and it made her feel uncomfortable. She told the RCMP officer it happened when she was between six and eight-years-old. Court heard the last time it happened was the last time she spent the night at his home.

Hentig called the girl as the Crown’s only witness on the trial’s first day.

While testifying, the girl said her father would hover his hand over her vagina while she was clothed and then rest his hand on it while they cuddled in bed. She told the court she didn’t know if he was sleeping or not, and nothing was said between them when it happened. Court heard it happened more than three times. But under cross examination, the girl said it happened more than six or seven times, and then said it happened “a lot of times.”

Defense lawyer Bruce Bonney suggested to the girl that she didn’t know if her father was accidentally or intentionally touching her while in bed, which she agreed.

The trial’s second day saw the father testify. He told the court he has shared custody over the girl and her two siblings and they would often spend multiple nights at his home before returning to their mother. The children created the sleeping rotation on their own, the father said. Court heard he would talk about the day with whichever child was sleeping in the bed and then he would fall asleep with his arm draped over them.

During cross examination, Hentig asked the father multiple questions relating to alcohol’s effects on memory and how many drinks he would have in a week. When asked, he couldn’t say how many times he shared the bed alone with the girl or her siblings. The father said he couldn’t remember any time when he woke up with his hand on the girl’s vagina.

Defense lawyer Franco Aiello said in his closing arguments the evidence fell short of giving proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

“On the evidence presented, there is no path to conviction, and the only conclusion available is to enter acquittals,” he told the court on the final day of the trial.

Aiello argued there was no sexual nature to the touching because the evidence presented didn’t show intent, and there was no specific transaction between the father and daughter that took place.

“This cannot, in and of itself, support a conviction,” Aiello said. “If that were the case, then every parent who ever changed the diapers of their child could be liable to conviction of sexual assault.”

Clark will deliver his decision at a later date.