Man convicted of sexually assaulting former partner’s daughter

CORNER BROOK — A western Newfoundland man has been found guilty of sexual interference and sexual assault of a young girl who thought of him as her father.

The man was convicted of the charges by Judge Wayne Gorman in provincial court in Corner Brook on Friday. Because of the familial relationship between the man and the girl, he is only identified in Gorman's written decision by his initials.

The offences were alleged to have taken place between 2012 and 2020. The girl is now 13.

Her mother and the man had been in a relationship from 2012 to 2017, and the three lived together for much of that time.

The girl testified that the man was like a “father figure” to her. Her mother said the two were “really close” and had an “amazing relationship.”

Gorman said the evidence presented indicated the three formed a family group and engaged in a multitude of routine family activities, and it was common for the man and the girl to show each other affection, including hugging.

The man testified he considered the girl his daughter, but never initiated such affection.

The man and the girl's mother separated in 2017, but he continued to have contact with her. That included the girl staying overnight at the home the man shares with his new partner.

The girl told her mother of the abuse in July 2020. She was at the man's home and called her mother, crying and saying she wanted to come home. She also sent her mother a text saying she wanted to tell her something.

She later told her mother what had been occurring, and her mother contacted the police.

The girl testified she became increasingly uncomfortable with being touched by the man, but also felt confused and was trying to understand what was happening. The abuse started when the girl was nine or 10 with the man touching her in places that he shouldn't have, she said, which occurred regularly and consistently until July 2020 and included touching her bum and her breast, and placing his hands under her pants and panties and rubbing that part of her body.

The man denied the assaults and said he was never alone with her.

He also suggested the girl's mother had persuaded her that something of a sexual nature had occurred. He had rebuffed the woman's attempts at reconciliation, and she had a motive to persuade her daughter to make a false allegation, he said.

Gorman considered the girl's evidence to be honest and reliable.

“She testified in a very clear and direct fashion. I did not find her evidence to be vague or uncertain. She was a very impressive witness,” Gorman said.

Gorman called much of the man's evidence nonsensical, especially about the relationship they had being close, but that he was never alone with the girl.

Gorman said he did not accept the man's evidence as being honest or reliable, and that it did not cause him to have reasonable doubt.

He concluded the girl was not pressured to make a false complaint.

Submissions on sentencing will be heard on April 30.