Convicted sex offender pushes for a mistrial
Fellow inmate testifies the victim made up her story about being attacked
A man convicted in a high-profile sexual assault case argued for a mistrial Wednesday, and court heard he plans to launch a second mistrial attempt in August.
Lance David Blanchard called upon a fellow Edmonton Remand Centre inmate to give evidence to discredit the testimony of the nowdeceased victim.
The woman’s evidence, given during a 2015 preliminary hearing, was used to convict him a year later.
The case gained attention in the spring when Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley ordered a thirdparty investigation into the case after learning that the young Indigenous woman was held in custody for five nights and shackled while in court to testify.
The woman was killed in an unrelated case before the matter could go to trial and her identity remains protected by a court-ordered publication ban, despite an attempt by her family to have the ban lifted.
Blanchard was acquitted of attempted murder in the case, but convicted of aggravated assault, kidnapping, unlawful confinement, aggravated sexual assault, possession of a weapon, threatening to cause death or bodily harm and breach of recognizance in December 2016.
On Wednesday, Blanchard’s lawyer, Tom Engel, called inmate Wayne Wilcox to testify about new information he argues warrants a mistrial.
Wilcox told court he had been friends with the victim for several years. He said they did drugs together, and that she liked to rob people. He said she used a scheme of posting ads online looking for places to live, and would then rob people who responded when they showed her their units.
Wilcox said before her death, the victim told him that during one of these robberies, she wound up getting confronted by a “creep.” When she learned about the man’s history as a sex offender, she made up a story about being attacked by him, Wilcox said.
Wilcox said that in the spring, when he learned that Blanchard was the “creep” in his friend’s story, he contacted Blanchard’s lawyer to tell him that his client had been prosecuted based on the victim’s fabricated story.
During cross-examination, Crown prosecutor Patricia Innes asked Wilcox if he’d fabricated his testimony because Blanchard offered him money from a lawsuit against Edmonton police. “You’re making it up,” Innes said. “Nope,” Wilcox replied.
In her oral submissions, Innes pointed to Wilcox’s considerable criminal record as evidence he is a “wholly unbelievable individual.”
She also said there was nothing in his evidence to suggest he actually knew the victim, and his claim he didn’t know about the death of a close friend for over a year simply wasn’t credible.
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Eric Macklin reserved his decision until early August.
In the midst of Wednesday’s hearing, a date was also set to hear a second mistrial application filed by Blanchard, which argues Crown prosecutors failed to disclose information to the defence.
“The allegations Mr. Engel has made are unfounded and will be met head on,” Edmonton chief Crown prosecutor Shelley Bykewich told court.
Bykewich said because the allegations involve a number of her own office’s employees, a Calgary prosecutor will be brought in to deal with that application when it’s heard Aug. 21.
Blanchard already attempted to have his convictions stayed, but Macklin rejected the attempt in June.
If Blanchard’s mistrial applications are also rejected, the Crown will seek to have him declared a dangerous offender at a hearing scheduled for 2018.
Blanchard already attempted to have his convictions stayed, but (a judge rejected them) in June.