Wrongly imprisoned man awarded $8M

VANCOUVER — A man who was wrongfully convicted on sexual assault charges has been awarded more than $8 million by a B.C. court after spending nearly 27 years behind bars.

In a 130-page ruling released Wednesday, Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson of the B.C. Supreme Court criticized the Crown’s decision to withhold key evidence that he said Ivan Henry was entitled to receive.

The judge said it demonstrated a “shocking disregard” for Henry’s charter rights.

Henry, 69, sued the City of Vancouver, the province and the federal government after being acquitted in 2010 of 10 sexual assault convictions.

“Crown counsel’s wrongful nondisclosure seriously infringed Mr. Henry’s right to a fair trial,” Hinkson wrote in his decision.

“If Mr. Henry had received the disclosure to which he was entitled, the likely result would have been his acquittal at his 1983 trial . . . and certainly the avoidance of his sentencing as dangerous offender.”

The judge outlined a series of police notes, reports, lab information, interviews, witness statements and Vancouver police property and exhibits that wasn’t disclosed to Henry before or during his trial.

The Crown also didn’t tell Henry or his lawyer that a police detective believed one of the victims had been assaulted by a different person, says the decision.

The judge said material information and evidence was intentionally withheld and that the Crown knew or ought to have known that this would compromise Henry’s ability to defend himself.

The award in Wednesday’s ruling is in addition to undisclosed settlements reached last year with the City of Vancouver and the federal government.