Crown `upset' with delay in denturist's sentencing
The prosecutor in a lengthy and frequently delayed court sex-offender case lashed out Monday after the newest delay in proceedings.
Currently out on bail and living in New Brunswick, Mario Mouamer, 47, a former Windsor denturist convicted in November on 13 counts of sexual assault involving 10 different clients, was ordered to be present Monday.
Superior Court Justice George King had been scheduled to read his sentencing judgment, but before he could begin the defence asked for a delay due to Mouamer's lawyer calling in sick.
“I am completely opposed to this matter being adjourned,” said assistant Crown attorney Tim Kavanagh.
The prosecutor in the case pointed out that the matter was before the court simply to hear the judge read his sentencing decision and that “there is nothing ” Mouamer's lawyer could do to assist her client.
But another lawyer who sat in for the defence said it was “a right-tocounsel issue” and that Mouamer deserved to have his retained lawyer present.
King agreed with the defence and adjourned the case, saying he will announce his sentencing decision on Wednesday.
“I am very upset,” Kavanagh told the court, adding it was part of a “pattern” of delays that had marked the years-long court proceedings of the case.
It was the judge who was upset at a previous sentencing hearing in January when the defence explained it was a misunderstanding that had Mouamer attending via Zoom from New Brunswick — where he's caring for his parents — rather than being in the Windsor courtroom as required.
After a trial that stretched over several years, partly due to the pandemic, Mouamer was found guilty of sexually assaulting 10 female clients — ranging in age from 23 to 65 — at his Windsor clinic over a four-year period.
At January's sentencing hearing, Kavanagh said the Crown was seeking a 42-month federal prison term, while defence lawyer Laura Joy asked for a conditional sentence to be served at home. King described as “extreme” that range of possible penalties.
It's been more than a decade since the first of the offences took place for which Mouamer has been convicted.
The abuse occurred at Precision Bite Denture Clinic on Tecumseh Road East between 2013 and 2017. He was first arrested and charged by Windsor police in June 2017 but, as other former clients came forward, he would eventually be charged with a total of 17 counts of sexual assault connected to 12 complainants.
At the recent sentencing hearing, Kavanagh read victim impact statements from four of the women, all describing the trauma experienced and lives forever changed.
The female complainants described how the denturist — who no longer practises his profession — would rub up against their buttocks while standing behind them in front of a mirror inspecting their mouths. Several of the women described Mouamer rubbing his groin against them with an erection.
Some of the victims present in the courtroom Monday shared the prosecutor's anger at the adjournment. As he departed the downtown courthouse, Mouamer, his face masked, rushed by reporters and victims and their supporters.