Hatfield acquittal quashed on appeal

A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has quashed a Hammonds Plains businessman’s acquittal on a charge of communicating with a female employee for the purpose of obtaining sexual services for consideration.

Brian David Hatfield, owner of Hatfield Farm, was accused of offering the young woman thousands of dollars to have sex with him in February 2020.

Hatfield, 56, stood trial in Halifax provincial court last year on two summary charges. He was found not guilty of criminal harassment as well, but the Crown did not appeal that acquittal.

The complainant’s identity is protected by a publication ban.

She testified at trial that Hatfield was a passenger in a shuttle van she was driving on the night of Feb. 15, 2020, following a Valentine’s Day dinner and dance at the farm.

She said Hatfield was noticeably intoxicated and had an alcoholic beverage with him as they drove around the property, making a couple of stops.

She alleged that during the second stop, Hatfield told her he wanted to have sex with her.

She said he made comments that amounted to him asking her to perform sexual acts with him, then and at other times in the future, in exchange for money, assets and references that might advance her career prospects.

The woman told the court Hatfield knew she was in a precarious financial situation at the time and asked her, “What can I do for you?”

She said after they drove to the lodge, Hatfield approached her as she was trying to assemble the pieces of a mop bucket.

“I was trying to get the pieces together, but the two pieces wouldn’t fit together,” she said. “So, (he) came up and said he would help me with it.

“And as he was putting the two pieces of the mop bucket together, he was looking at me just continuously making the offer, saying, you know, $1,000, $10,000, a car, an apartment .

. . .

“He just said, ‘You know, what we talked about earlier, that conversation doesn’t have to end here. I meant it,’ and then he would make any offers. So, in my mind, I was assuming that all these offers were for sex.”

Hatfield took the stand in his own defence and denied telling the complainant he wanted to have sex with her or offering her financial incentives in exchange for sex.

Judge Alan Tufts, in his verdict last June 26, concluded the complainant was not sufficiently credible and reliable regarding the specific words Hatfield had spoken to her. The judge noted that the woman prefaced her account by saying “I believe he said to me, I am not sure.”

Tufts said the complainant believed the defendant had sex on his mind.

“In my view, she heard what she believed the defendant was thinking,” the judge said. “However, the defendant denied he said this.

“I’m not satisfied that it has been shown that he said these words,” Tufts said in finding there was reasonable doubt on both charges.

GROUNDS OF APPEAL

The Crown sought a new trial on the charge of communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services for consideration, claiming the trial judge misapprehended the complainant’s evidence and erred in his credibility assessment.

Hatfield’s lawyer argued the trial judge was entitled to interpret the language used by the complainant in her testimony in making his credibility findings, and that there was no reason to interfere with his verdict.

Justice Peter Rosinski heard the appeal Feb. 12. His written decision overturning the acquittal and ordering a new trial was released March 1.

“On no reasonable reading of (the complainant’s) words could one conclude that she was not sure about the words (Hatfield) had said to her,” Rosinski wrote.

“I am satisfied that the trial judge misapprehended the substance of the evidence of (the complainant) and failed to give proper effect to the evidence, which played an essential part in the reasoning process, resulting in the acquittal.”

The case will return to provincial court March 20 to set dates for Hatfield’s retrial on the single charge.