Cairns pleads not guilty to sexual assault
A Niagara man told a jury he was 14 years old when well-known businessman Jeffery Cairns, a man he considered his “second father,” began to sexually molest him.
The complainant, now 23, testified Wednesday in Superior Court of Justice in St. Catharines that there were nine separate incidents of sexual assault between March 2010 and March 2011. He couldn’t recall specific dates or in what sequence the assaults occurred.
The witness told a seven-man, five-woman jury he was sexually assaulted by the defendant in his family home and the Cairns home and that there were often other people nearby at the time.
During one incident, the witness said, Cairns commented “this is so wrong but it feels so right.”
Cairns, 60, has pleaded not guilty to a number of charges including sexual assault and sexual interference.
Court was told the witness was out of the country in April 2011 when Cairns sent him a Facebook message in which he discussed sex acts with his wife.
“He was giving me details of
different positions,” the young man said.
During that same Facebook conversation, the jury heard, the witness told the defendant “when I come back we can’t do stuff anymore.”
He said Cairns agreed, to which the complainant wrote “thank you for understanding.”
“I was trying to establish normality,” he told assistant Crown attorney Robert Mahler.
Defence lawyer Jonathan Shime suggested the word “stuff” could be open to interpretation as the young man didn’t specify that “stuff” was in relation to sexual activity.
Shime also questioned the witness as to why he never disclosed the allegations of abuse until 2016 and why he continued to visit the Cairns home.
“This is something I wrestled with internally, to myself,” the man said.
The Cairns family is prominent in St. Catharines and known for their philanthropic endeavours. They have made significant contributions to Niagara organizations over the years and Cairns’ father, Roy, who died in 2011, donated $6 million to Brock University in 2010.
Jeffery Cairns made a $500,000 donation in 2014 to FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines.
The Cairns Recital Hall is a 300-seat venue and rehearsal space in the venue.
“When you walked into the police station on Aug. 4, 2016, what was your understanding of Mr. Cairn’s net worth?” Shime asked the complainant.
“Around $40 million,” he replied.
Cairns is president of Charlesway Corp. Ltd., a private investment firm based in St. Catharines, and was a member of the Brock University’s board of trustees. He resigned from the board in August 2016.
The trial continues today before Judge Paul Sweeny.