Accused denies alleged sexual abuse of daughter during trial’s second day

Editor’s note: The following story deals with allegations of sexual abuse and may be upsetting to some readers.

A 39-year-old Stratford man charged with inviting sexual touching and sexual interference denied all allegations of childhood sexual abuse against his daughter during the second day of his Stratford Superior Court trial.

The man, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban protecting the identity of his daughter, was brought into court Wednesday wearing handcuffs before taking to the stand as the sole defense witness.

During his testimony, the man categorically denied all allegations of sexual abuse described in detail by his daughter, who is now 20, during her testimony Tuesday. She alleged her father abused her on numerous occasions when she would visit him at his girlfriend’s home and later when she lived part time at the couple’s shared home in Stratford when she was between the ages of eight or nine and about 14.

While the date range of the charges extends from 2011 to 2017, the complainant noted Tuesday she could not fully remember the exact years in which the alleged abuse took place.

The man denied ever allowing his daughter, or any of the other kids living in either house, into the basement bedrooms, where his daughter alleged some of the worst sexual abuse took place. He told the court Wednesday he and his girlfriend kept drugs in the basement bedroom, where they sometimes slept or allowed guests to sleep, so imposed a strict rule meant to keep their kids from entering.

“I never let anyone down there,” he initially tested. However, during cross-examination by Crown lawyer Elizabeth Wilson, he said he had invited the kids into the basement when they were younger to watch movies as a family.

Because of how many people lived in both houses – as many as six or seven other people, including four children and the complainant – he was rarely alone with his daughter. Again, during cross-examination, Wilson pressed the man on his and his girlfriend’s work schedules and the kids’ school schedules, suggesting there were numerous occasions when the two would have been alone in the house or part of the house together.

Though he told Wilson he couldn’t remember being alone with his daughter in either home, he admitted it was possible. He also said there could have been instances when he was dyeing his daughter’s hair where they were in the bathroom together with the door closed and possibly locked. That door, he added, could be unlocked from the outside.

“I dyed all my kids’ hair,” he said, later adding he usually dyed their hair once a month, either in the kitchen or the main-floor bathroom.

When asked about an argument his daughter described Tuesday where she allegedly told him she didn’t want him touching her anymore, the man told both defense lawyer Alexandra Cardella and Wilson he had no recollection of that fight. He said he and his daughter had arguments about normal teenage problems, like her messy room or dirty dishes, but testified those fights resulted in two or three weeks of silence.

At the beginning of the trial’s first day, the man did plead guilty to a charge of voyeurism but pleaded not guilty to the charges of inviting sexual touching and sexual interference.

During her testimony, the complainant said she first approached Stratford police about the alleged sexual abuse on Nov. 20, 2019 – when she was 18 years old – after reportedly finding a camera in her father’s bathroom as she was about to take a shower. She said the tiny camera was pointing at the shower when she found it, but her father allegedly removed it shortly thereafter.

While Wilson tried to question the man about the hidden camera during Wednesday’s cross-examination, Cardella objected, arguing that line of questioning was only relevant to the voyeurism charge and fell outside of the date range for the other alleged offences.

Justice Spencer Nicholson agreed and told Wilson to move on with the remainder of her questions.

Both lawyers will make their closing submissions at 10 am Thursday.

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