Teen girls weep as judge dismisses sex assault charges
Not enough evidence to convict man accused of touching girls in wave pool
EDMONTON A man accused of sexual assault hugged his wife after learning his charges were dismissed Friday. Meanwhile, a group of teenage girls and their supporters left the courtroom in tears.
Soleiman Hajj Soleiman was arrested in February 2017 after several teenagers reported being touched by a man in the West Edmonton Mall water park.
He was acquitted of all charges against him — six counts of sexual assault and six counts of sexual contact with a child — in a provincial court ruling Friday morning.
Justice Joyce Lester said while something did happen at the mall’s wave pool, there was not enough reliable evidence to convict Soleiman.
The witnesses, who were ages 13 to 15 at the time of the event, gave varying descriptions of the man’s head and facial hair, skin colour and age during the trial.
One said he wore blue goggles, while another said he wore rainbow goggles in a zebra pattern.
The girls also discussed what happened at the pool a number of times after the incident, which Lester said could possibly shift and cross-contaminate their ideas of what happened.
When the trial began earlier this year, court heard testimony from some of the teen complainants.
Pool security footage wasn’t clear enough to identify whoever might have groped the girls, the judge said.
Lester believed a photo lineup should have been used in the investigation to identify the assailant, but this did not happen — a detective had said identification was not an issue.
“(The detective’s) statement of complacency has no place in a criminal investigation,” Lester said as she delivered her decision.
‘REGRETTABLE’ RULING
At least two of the girls in the courtroom cried and left with their mothers when the ruling was given.
During the hearing, the teen witnesses were supported by a therapy dog from the Zebra Child Protection Centre.
Crown prosecutor Laurie Trahan said she understood the ruling, but was disappointed the girls’ discussions about what happened in the pool was ruled to be contaminated evidence.
“It’s regrettable that the logical, rational response to being sexually assaulted is not something that the court appreciates,” she said.
“It’s not at all unusual for a woman or girl who gets sexually assaulted to talk to her friends.”
Trahan said it’s too early to determine whether she will appeal the ruling.
Soleiman, his wife and six children were sponsored by a group of 30 people to come to Canada from Syria two years ago. One sponsor, Dave Trautman, said the family was nervous and not happy during the trial.
“I’ve been telling him Canada has a good system, the judge can be trusted, and the court system will be fair,” Trautman said.
None of the family’s sponsors withdrew their support throughout the trial, Trautman said.
On the evening of Feb. 4, 2017, 16 girls from a soccer team were attending a birthday party at the pool, court heard.
One of the complainants, then 14, testified she was in the wave pool when she heard other girls saying someone was touching them.
She told court that as a wave hit, a man swam up under her and touched her breast and buttocks.
It’s regrettable that the logical, rational response to being sexually assaulted is not something that the court appreciates