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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Officers' sex-video suit grinds to halt

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 08/4/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

A highly anticipated civil court case has come to a screeching halt as both parties seemingly look for alternatives to what would surely be an embarrassing public spectacle.

The six-year legal saga between two well-respected provincial sheriff's officers and an amateur Winnipeg porn star is gathering dust with no apparent end in sight. The dispute was set to go to trial in 2010, but those dates were adjourned and no new ones have been set. Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Justice Brenda Keyser has been appointed to mediate discussions between the parties to see if an out-of-court settlement can be reached.

Lawyers told the Free Press this week the case is slowly working its way through the system but wouldn't provide estimates of when, or how, it might be resolved.

Much of the delay has been caused by lawyers conducting interviews with the parties, fleshing out details of the claim and damages being sought and researching the law and other case precedents in Canada.

The male and female sheriff's officers, who have been living common-law for several years, were suspended without pay in December 2006 after justice officials learned of a racy online video that showed them in consensual sex acts with a woman named Oshean de St. Claire de Guise. Oshean's website revealed an explicit, 45-second clip of the video and encouraged visitors to purchase a membership to see the entire 40-minute romp. The website contained several other videos and promises: "No paid actors and no script... this is REAL reality porn."

The couple got their jobs back in early 2007 and also filed a lawsuit, claiming they didn't knowingly consent to having the video become public. They met Oshean and her husband, Johannes, in a Winnipeg bar during Grey Cup week in November 2006 and said they agreed to be filmed "privately" for their own viewing pleasure.

Lawyers representing Oshean and Johannes fired back, saying the sheriffs knew exactly what they were getting into and don't have a legal leg to stand on in trying to quash the video they have dubbed The Grey Cup Blond. They have also produced signed consent forms in which the sheriffs agreed to "participate in adult photo/video production for commercial purposes."

A judge ordered a temporary injunction in April 2007 that ordered Oshean to remove the specific video from her website. He refused to shut down the entire site as the sheriffs had requested.

However, the saucy video remains in legal limbo and could be re-posted and distributed for sale if Oshean and her husband get a favourable ruling.

Both sheriffs say their lives have been forever affected by their involvement in the videotaped encounter. They claim Oshean and Johannes plied them with alcohol, which likely contributed to them not understanding the apparent terms of the consent forms they signed.

"I've suffered great anxiety, stress and humiliation," the female sheriff's officer said in a recent affidavit. "The thought that members of the public at large can download these images at any time makes me physically ill."

She said they have been subjected to taunting by inmates and "treated with derision" by co-workers.

Oshean and Johannes claim the sheriff's officers initiated the sexual acts that night by asking numerous questions about the adult entertainment business. The couple claimed they were "swingers" with previous experience in group sex, according to court filings.

"(The male sheriff) stated he was always looking for ways to earn income over and above his regular employment," says their statement of defence.

www.mikeoncrime.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 4, 2012 A4

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