Appeal court rejects bid for new trial in sex case

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This article was published 18/09/2009 (5917 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Manitoba Court of Appeal has refused to order a new trial for a former child and family services respite worker who lured her mentally-disabled client into a sexual relationship with an elderly man that left her pregnant.

Carol Siemens, 56, also lost her bid Thursday to have a “harsh and excessive” three-year prison sentence replaced with a conditional penalty that would allow her to remain free in the community.

The province’s highest court found no mistakes were made by Queen’s Bench Justice Kenneth Hanssen in both his verdict and sentence.

Siemens, who used to go by the name Iverson, was convicted of sexual assault last year. The 28-year-old victim has the mental capacity of a six-year-old and was unable to testify in her own defence. She gave birth to a boy six years ago who also has developmental difficulties, court was told.

The Crown’s case relied heavily on “star” witness Kenneth Allan — the now 73-year-old father of the baby — who cut a controversial plea bargain that spared him jail time in exchange for his co-operation.

Allan told court he invited Siemens and the victim over in the spring of 2001 to clean his trailer-park home and was shocked to walk into a bedroom and find them both naked in bed, inviting him to join them. He claims a few minutes of foreplay turned into sexual intercourse with the victim, who he knew had a disability. A total of $80 was paid by Allan for the two visits, partly for cleaning services, and partly for sex with the victim.

Siemens took the stand in her own defence and denied any wrongdoing. She described a warm, loving relationship with her client, which ended with the “shocking” discovery she was pregnant. Hanssen rejected her denials, saying she was clearly trying to mislead the court through her testimony.

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