Judge finds Garden City man in ‘very dysfunctional’ relationship guilty of 10 criminal offences

A St. Catharines man who denied assaulting his former partner in a case a judge described as a “he said, she said” scenario, has been found guilty of 10 criminal charges.

The man, who cannot be named due to a publication ban, had pleaded not guilty to 14 charges including sexual assault, forcible confinement and assault with a weapon.

The victim testified in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines to serious violent offences which occurred in January 2018. The defendant denied the allegations.

“As part of my role as the trier of fact, I am called upon to make findings of credibility and reliability,” Judge Fergus O’Donnell said in his judgment delivered Jan. 15.

“Even honest witnesses make mistakes, forget, conflate what they saw with what someone else told them about an event and so on.

“In a case of this nature, among the key cautions for a trier of fact to keep in mind is that human memory is not like a videorecording and that people’s reactions to trauma can vary widely.”

Court heard the duo met in 2017, connecting through Facebook.

The judge described the couple’s relationship as “very dysfunctional” with significant trust issues.

During an argument, court was told, the victim said her boyfriend put his hands around her neck and choked her. She said he hit her a few times, once with her phone to her face.

At one point during the incident, she said, he went into a closet and came out with a loaded handgun. The woman said she didn’t actually see the defendant load the gun, but recognized the sound.

The defendant painted a different picture of what happened in the house.

He never struck her. He never brandished the handgun at her or even showed it to her. He did not sexually assault her.

Police photos, however, show clear injuries to the woman’s face and body.

These include a mark on her forehead, bruising on her nose and lip, petachia on her eyelids, round bruises on her neck consistent with fingertips, marks on her jawline and an abrasion on her collar.

The judge said the nature of some of the injuries is “powerfully consistent with being choked.”

“Is it conceivable a jilted partner might, in the throes of anger and resentment, rush off and do self-harm or engage another to harm her in pursuit of revenge? It is possible, but it is extremely unlikely.”

The defendant is scheduled to return to court in August for sentencing.