‘Reasonable doubt’

P.E.I. man found not guilty of raping daughter

An Island man was found not guilty Thursday in P.E.I. Supreme Court on several alleged sexual crimes against his daughter. Justice Wayne Cheverie ruled the Crown “failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt’’ and noted he was also “unable to resolve the conflicts’’ that arose in testimony during the trial. Cheverie found the man not guilty on all four counts that arose from allegations of touching his daughter for a sexual purpose and having sexual intercourse with his daughter. The judge also found the man not guilty of a sexual assault charge arising from an incident with his stepdaughter. The man cannot be named because of a court-ordered publication ban protecting the identities of the alleged victims. Cheverie spent close to two hours delivering his decision in front of a near-packed courtroom that appeared split between supporters of the accused and the two complainants. The judge noted the accused’s biological daughter testified on details of the alleged incidents that were drawn from flashbacks, adding the Crown did not call any experts to testify on the veracity of flashbacks versus memory. The judge also highlighted testimony from the complainant’s doctor that he never saw any sign of sexual abuse during his examinations of a vaginal yeast infection. Cheverie said the only witnesses to the alleged sexual crimes were the two complainants and the accused, who took the stand denying all allegations that resulted in the five charges. The judge also noted the accused’s stepdaughter was a “reluctant complainant”. Among notable discrepancies, Cheverie said the accused’s daughter first told police her father forced sexual intercourse with her on three occasions. She later told police it was three to five times. In court, she testified her father raped her four times.