Ex-care aide not guilty of sexual assault

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This article was published 18/06/2018 (2138 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A former aide for people with disabilities has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a co-worker. 

A jury of five women and seven men deliberated for 6 1/2 hours Tuesday, before deciding to acquit the 52-year-old man, who hugged his lawyer and then his wife upon hearing the verdict.

The man — whom the Free Press had not named during the course of the trial to protect the identity of the woman — is a married father of two who had said sexual encounters with his female co-worker were consensual.

The woman, 42, testified the man sexually assaulted her four times between May and July 2016, on nights when their shifts overlapped at the 24-hour downtown Winnipeg housing complex where they both worked as aides for people with physical disabilities.

The man was fired from his job after a disciplinary meeting, during which he was told there were allegations of sexual abuse against him. The man testified he had two sexual encounters with the woman, and acknowledged it was wrong to do it at work, but said it was consensual and the woman initiated the kissing. 

Jurors were sequestered since around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, after receiving legal instructions from Justice James Edmond, who reminded them the man was presumed innocent unless they believed the Crown proved four counts of sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt.

Edmond also warned jurors against using stereotypes about how a sexual-assault victim should act, particularly since the woman was questioned about why she agreed to work evening shifts that overlapped with the man’s schedule after the first alleged assault.

“Keep in mind that there are no absolute rules on how people who are victims of sexual assault will behave. Some will make an immediate complaint. Some will delay in disclosing the abuse, while some will never disclose the abuse. Reasons for the delay are many and include embarrassment, fear, guilt or lack of understanding and knowledge,” Edmond told the jury.

When she testified last week, the woman said she didn’t know her co-worker well, and had only talked to him in passing before he began making sexual advances in May 2016. That was contrary to his testimony, in which he said he’d become friends with the woman while they worked together.

She said he sexually assaulted her in the centre’s staff room three times over the course of two months, and ultimately raped her one night in July 2016. The man testified the first two incidents she described didn’t happen and the other two were consensual. 

She testified she told a friend about the first incident the day after it happened, but was afraid to tell anyone at work. She said she knew the man had a family and didn’t want to get him in trouble.

He was the primary night-shift employee, and she said she worried about who would care for the tenants if he lost his job. She said she also didn’t know if she would be fired or if anyone would believe her.

She went to police after the fourth alleged assault, following a trip to the hospital with her mother and a call to her supervisor to say she wouldn’t be returning to work. When pressed for more information, she told the supervisor her co-worker “raped me.”

Under cross-examination, the woman denied suggestions the sex was consensual but she was embarrassed because of her religious beliefs, or she only went to the hospital because she was worried about sexually transmitted infections or pregnancy. She testified she didn’t want to work evening shifts that overlapped with the man’s work schedule but agreed “under duress” because her employer “begged” her to work.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay