Photo by Curtis Galbraith

By Curtis Galbraith

Court

Former AHS official accused of sex-related charges found guilty

Feb 7, 2023 | 11:24 AM

A former Alberta Health Services official has been found guilty of two sexual offences involving a child.

The accused was convicted on charges of sexual assault and sexual interference. We are not using the official’s name because of a court-ordered publication ban that prohibits the use of any information that could identify the victim.

A legal principle that says an accused cannot be convicted of both offences means the sexual interference charge has been stayed.

Justice Shaina Leonard read out her decision Tuesday in Grande Prairie court.

She said she did not accept any explanations given by the accused and found the evidence given by the complainant and the child’s parents credible and reliable.

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One key piece of evidence was a voicemail left by the accused with the family of the complainant. The accused had explained he was apologizing for overstepping his bounds and acting more as a parent than a friend.

Justice Leonard said in her ruling that the issue of overstepping never came up before and rejected the explanation of it being an apology for this, saying instead that the accused knew what the apology was for.

She also ruled that the sexual things that the complainant talked about in police interviews and in court testimony could only have been learned at the home of the accused as the parents never exposed their child to any sex education.

Justice Leonard also said that these charges stem from what happened at a second sleepover at the home of the accused, adding that while it is hard to say how many times sexual touching occurred that it may have happened five to eight times on sleepovers.

A three-day trial was held in January in Grande Prairie court.

The case is back in Grande Prairie Court of King’s Bench Monday, February 13.

The accused has a second trial for similar charges involving two other children set for August 23.