A 70-year-old Norfolk County man has lost an appeal of his conviction for sex crimes against family members.
Ontario’s Court of Appeal upheld a decision by Justice James Turnbull, who convicted the man in 2020 of gross indecency and indecent assault. The appeal court said Turnbull, who sentenced the man in January 2021 to four years in prison, had correctly evaluated the evidence.
“We defer to the trial judge’s assessment,” the court wrote in a decision released this week.
When rendering his decision in October 2020, Turnbull called it an “ignominious way (for the man) to enter the winter of one’s life.”
He noted the crimes were committed 45 to 50 years ago but said they were “inexcusable, disgusting and damaging.”
“The public needs to know that in almost all cases of such conduct, a significant period of incarceration is inevitable, whether it’s proximate to the time of the occurrences or 50 years later.”
The man was charged in 2017 when one victim went to police. The police then questioned other relative and ugly charges involving crimes against three women.
The case was in the court system for almost 31/2 years.
The judge said he wasn’t totally convinced by one woman’s testimony but the testimony of the others left him with no doubt of the man’s guilt.
After his conviction, the man was out on bail almost immediately based on his appeal.
The man’s lawyer told the Court of Appeal that Turnbull erred by:
• Using the credibility of two complainants to shore up the credibility of a third;
• Ignoring that police sought out complainants after one went public;
• Refusing to sever the victims’ complaints;
• Granting a “similar act” application;
• And by erring when he found it “inconceivable” the women would make up their stories almost 50 years later and come to court to perjure themselves.
The defense also argued that reasonable doubt should have been raised by an “alternative suspect” theory and the judge didn’t provide sufficient reasons for rejecting reasonable doubt.
But the appeal court knocked down each of the arguments, pointing out the victims had “no motivation to make up such a story” and that Turnbull had evaluated their testimony with appropriate skepticism.
The appeal court acknowledged a small factual error made by Turnbull as he delivered his reasons but said it was “insignificant.” The appeal court also dismissed the idea of collusion by the victims.
The court heard the arguments on May 5 and immediately advised the defense lawyer the appeal was dismissed and that the man, who had argued he had a number of health problems and was an essential caregiver to his current wife, had to surrender himself into custody by 4 pm on May 6 to begin serving his sentence.
He’ll be on the sexual offenders list for the rest of his life.
@EXPSGamble