Cairns sex case going to jury
Closing arguments wrap up in St. Catharines courtroom
The lawyer representing a wealthy Niagara businessman accused of molesting teenaged boys told jurors they should dismiss the complainants’ version of events, suggesting the young men may have been motivated to fabricate stories of sexual abuse for money or attention.
In his closing address to the jury Monday in Superior Court of Justice in St. Catharines, Jonathan Shime maintained his client Jeffrey Cairns is the victim of false allegations.
Cairns has pleaded not guilty to a number of charges including sexual assault and sexual interference. The 63-year-old took the stand in his own defence and adamantly denied the accusations.
“Does it make sense for a man with everything to lose — a wife, two sons and all the money he needs — to risk it all in such a public and dangerous fashion?” Shime asked the seven-man, five-woman jury.
The defence lawyer said individuals can face charges of sexual assault based on little evidence and uncorroborated testimony from complainants who claim they can’t provide specific details of their allegations such as the dates the abuse is said to have taken place.
“In today’s climate, how easy it is to have someone charged with a crime.”
Two brothers from Niagara, now 25 and 23,
and a 19-year-old Toronto resident each testified to numerous incidents of sexual assault at the hands of the man they all agreed was like a second father to them.
They could not recall specific dates, or in what sequence the incidents occurred.
Shime said the first witness “was very good at making up stories,” and suggested the older brother lied to police out of loyalty to his sibling. He said the third complainant may have been motivated by money.
Assistant Crown attorney Robert Mahler told the jury the fact the complainants can’t recall specific dates — and disclosed the abuse years after it occurred — is irrelevant.
“There is no rule on how victims of sexual trauma behave,” he said, adding some victims choose to never disclose the abuse they suffered as children.
Mahler said there are enough similarities in the young men’s testimony that “a distinctive pattern of conduct is revealed” in terms of Cairns behaviour with teenage boys.
During the course of the trial, the jury was told of a Facebook Messenger conversation between Cairns and the first complainant, which occurred in 2011 when the youth was out of the country.
The teen told the defendant he had “matured” since being away from home and wrote “when I come back, we can’t do it any more.”
Shime said individuals often “lose their inhibitions” when online and that the word “it” referred to Cairns having inappropriate conversations with the teen, such as telling him which sexual positions his wife enjoyed.
The Crown, however, maintains the “it” referred to sexual activity, specifically masturbation and oral sex.
Cairns was president of Charles way Corp. Ltd., a Niagara-based private equity investment firm, and was a member of the Brock University’s board of trustees. He resigned from the board in August 2016, a day after his initial arrest. He was also the former commanding officer of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment and was involved with Scouts Canada.
Judge Paul Sweeny is scheduled to give instructions to the jurors today, after which the jury will begin deliberations until a verdict is reached.
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 $8 million to Brock University in 2010.