December 11, 2012
Sex offender wins new sentencing hearing
"Trial judge denied defence request to cross-examine teen victims on impact statements
A married father who sexually assaulted two Ottawa schoolgirls, aged 12 and 16, in a backyard pool has won a new sentencing hearing because the trial judge refused to let the young victims be subjected to another “brutal” cross-examination by their abuser’s lawyer.
In an appeal decision, Ontario Superior Court Justice Colin McKinnon upheld the man’s child-sex crimes conviction but ordered provincial court Justice J.D. Nadelle to hold a fresh sentencing hearing for the sex offender, whose six-month jail term is now quashed.
The problem with N’s sentencing hearing came after the girls filed their victim-impact statements. The judge called their statements compelling and then refused to let their abuser’s lawyer cross-examine the girls."
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/offender+wins+sentencing+hearing/7684355/story.html
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