By EverythingGP staff

Court

Closing arguments Thursday in trial of former AHS official charged with sexual offences

Jan 11, 2023 | 5:35 PM

Closing arguments in the trial of a former Alberta Health Services official charged with sexual offences against a child will be heard Thursday morning in Grande Prairie court.

The accused, who we are not naming because of a court-ordered publication ban on any information that can identify witnesses or alleged victims, testified in his own defence Wednesday.

He denied all allegations against him under both direct examination by defence counsel and under cross-examination by the Crown prosecutor, including when asked directly if he had touched the alleged victim in a sexual manner.

Court heard that the two families had become friends and the kids from one family had sleepovers at the home of the accused and his wife.

A lot of the questioning from both sides concerned a voicemail left by the accused with the family of the alleged victim after the second family had ended contact and blocked them on social media, specifically if the message had included saying I did something wrong or If I did something wrong. The accused says he was referring to acting more as a parent for the kids rather than a friend, feeling he had overstepped boundaries.

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The Crown suggested he was referring to the allegations made in court, something he denied.

He was arrested in June of 2021 and charged with sexual assault and sexual interference in connection with alleged incidents that happened between 2018 and 2020. The accusations have not been proven in court.