Military officials insist investigators and prosecutors did nothing wrong and will not make any changes to their handling of two military sexual assault cases pending in civilian courts. .
A civilian judge last month terminated the trial of the now-retired lieutenant general. Trevor Cadieux and his co-defendants filed a complaint concluding that there was an unreasonable delay.
Another civilian judge said in September that he “reluctantly” closed the criminal case in the case of retired corporal Arianna Nollette, who claims she was sexually assaulted at CFB Petawawa in 2020. The judge concluded that the defendant was entitled to a trial within a reasonable time. he violated.
In both cases, judges said the military was responsible for some of the delays.
Canadian Forces Deputy Marshal Col. Vanessa Hanrahan said she conducted a “thorough review” of how military police responded after Cadieux’s case was put on hold.
The judge in the case said the Crown withheld important hearings from the defense for nine months “until the Crown suspended the editing of the video requested by the Military Police.” “The military police did not comply with this request,” the judge wrote in his ruling.
“What I can say is that I am confident in the investigation that we have conducted to show that there were no unnecessary delays in providing documents between the Military Police and the Crown Prince’s Prosecution Service,” Hanrahan told CBC News. That’s all.”
“Therefore, there are no specific changes that will occur as a result of this particular file. However, we insist that we always strive to improve things.”
The military is under pressure to ensure other sexual assault cases are not thrown out due to delays when referred to the civilian system. The military began transferring sexual misconduct files to civilian courts in late 2021 after the federal government agreed to interim recommendations by former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbor.
The government has ordered Arbor to conduct its own review of the military’s culture in response to a sexual misconduct crisis that has seen a series of senior leaders removed from the military’s top posts.
Cadieux was poised to take over as commander of the Canadian Forces in 2021 until he was charged in connection with an alleged sexual assault that occurred in 1994, an allegation he denied. Prices remained unchanged in October.
Cadieux and Nore’s case was one of the first to be transferred outside the military system and reach a conclusion in civilian courts after the end of 2021.
When asked to explain the delay in Mr Cadieux’s case, Mr Hanrahan said that when military police file charges in the civilian system, they strive to release information to the Crown in a timely manner. The military police assist the king with tasks such as editing, but added that it is the king’s responsibility to disclose evidence to the defense.
clock/ Military sexual assault cases are stalled without necessary legal reforms, experts say
featured videosA woman who says she was sexually assaulted while in the military has found hope after her case was moved to civilian court. But a judge put her charges on hold, citing long delays. As dozens of other cases continue, experts say the government needs to accelerate legislation that would give civilian courts jurisdiction over military sexual assault cases.
Col. Dylan Carr, director of military prosecutors, said the military has no plans to change its policies or practices in response to Nolet’s case.
“There’s nothing we would change in that regard, because no other incident like that would happen,” Carr told CBC News.
Mr. Nolet called the response “bold.”
“It’s just a little arrogant and presumptuous for them to claim that they weren’t accountable and that they didn’t make any mistakes in the process, because the judge in my case clearly “He admitted that the way the military handled my case was at fault,” she said.
The Ontario Court of Justice judge in the Nolet case estimated that the military system in that case resulted in a nine-month delay before files were transferred to civilian authorities. The defendant pleaded not guilty in court.
In his ruling, the judge said the case was “stubbornly strangled by a nine-month albatross under the military justice system and irrevocably trapped in the civilian system.”
The Crown and defense then “put the case on the backburner” and failed to take reasonable steps to address the delay, the judge wrote when concluding the trial.
featured videosA judge deferred sexual assault charges against Nollette’s alleged assailant in August because it took too long to go to trial.
“The outcome is disappointing, but not incredibly surprising,” Kerr said of the pending prosecution in Nollette’s case.
Mr Kerr said the risks of transferring the files were “recognized and communicated very clearly”.
Nollette said she was given a warning but did not trust the military justice system to handle her case independently and appropriately.
“Ultimately, the victim’s opinion as to whether they wanted their case heard in the military justice system or the criminal justice system was ultimately the deciding factor for us,” Kerr said. said. “But we always knew there was a risk.”
Carr said Nollette and one other person were the only ones who chose to have their cases transferred to civilian authorities after military police had already filed charges.
Nollette said the decision should not have been left to her.
“As a victim and in my current state of mind, I don’t have the knowledge or education to make that decision,” she says.
In his final report last year, Arbor said the military imposes an “unrealistic burden on victims” when seeking decisions on civilian or military prosecutions. Arbor said this would require victims to “decide which system works better for them with little understanding of the factors at play,” which is not in the public’s interest. Stated.
featured videosCanada’s Minister of Defense has said that changes to the laws governing military justice will be made in the coming months, preferably by the end of 2023. The amendment would transfer all cases involving military sexual assault to civilian courts.
CBC News asked Defense Minister Bill Blair about the military’s role in the two pending cases.
“I don’t think anyone should have to defend what they did if they did their job,” Blair said. “But what we have heard loud and clear, and what Mrs. Justice Arbor has recommended to us, is that these investigations should not be left to military police.”
Prime Minister Blair said he intended to bring forward in the coming months a change to the law that would strip the military of its jurisdiction to investigate sexual misconduct, a final recommendation made by Prime Minister Arbor some 18 months ago.
