Lawyers in doctor’s sex assault trial to ask for stay of proceedings
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/01/2023 (961 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Defence lawyers for a rural doctor accused of multiple counts of sexual assault intend to apply for a judicial stay of proceedings, court heard Friday.
Dr. Arcel Bissonnette is charged with 22 counts of sexual assault for alleged offences against several female patients when he worked in Ste. Anne, a town southeast of Winnipeg, between 2004 and 2017.
He was initially charged in 2020 with six counts before additional complainants stepped forward. Bissonnette was charged with 16 more offences in 2021.
Dr. Arcel Bissonnette’s lawyers are planning to ask for a judicial stay of proceedings on the grounds of abuse of process and late disclosure. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press files)
The Court of King’s Bench judge-only trial before Justice Anne Turner is on the initial six counts. The other alleged offences will be dealt with at a later date.
The trial had adjourned on Wednesday after defence lawyers Lisa LaBossiere, Marty Minuk and Josh Weinstein raised concerns about missing key evidence: the notebooks of the lead Sainte-Anne Police Department investigator, then-constable Jacqueline Lawford.
“The defence position… in short, would be an application for a judicial stay of proceedings on the grounds of abuse of process (and) late disclosure,” Minuk told Turner when the trial briefly reconvened Friday.
Minuk noted the Crown and defence have received further investigation since Wednesday.
“The most significant piece came forward… this morning,” said Minuk.
All the lawyers agreed to adjourn until Monday after about three minutes in court Friday.
Lawford led the investigation from August 2017 to April 2019 before she was seconded to work at another police department, which later led to a permanent job offer. Lawford briefly testified on Monday and said she placed her notebooks in a filing cabinet at the Ste. Anne department, but police have not found them.
The defence had, prior to this week, received police evidence disclosures only from October 2018 until April 2019, LaBossiere told court earlier.
Turner said Friday she has spent the past few days reading lost-evidence cases.
“My first question Monday morning is going to be at what point, if… a (stay) application is coming, when that should happen, whether it should happen before… the substance of the trial or whether it should be coming at the end,” the judge said.
“I just leave that as a question that’s on my mind.”
Crown prosecutor Paul Girdlestone replied: “That question is on all counsels’ minds.”
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @erik_pindera
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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