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Previous
Edmonton police stories | Abdulahi
Mahamad: It
is three years since the cops arrested him in his own home, handcuffed
him in front of his children, took him to the police station
where they strip-searched him and held for over 30 hours. The
charges did not stick, but any police check on him now shows
him as an accused sex offender whose charges were stayed. The
police are still up to their old tricks as the following article
shows. . . "Of 725 child sex abuse complaints investigated
by Edmonton police in 2000, 2001 and 2002, only 160 - about 22%
-resulted in criminal charges being laid. But that doesn't mean
the other 565 cases were all false allegations, Eastcott said.
" Then what were they? Remember, in 1992 prosecutor Matt
Miazga said he was staying charges against the Klassens and Kvellos
in Saskatoon because the children were "too traumatized
to testify." On December 30, 2004 he was found to have been
malicious.--Steele
Abdulahi
Mahamad
| The
Kerry Diotte story | Edmonton police chiefs | More on Edmonton
police
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Fryingpan | 2005: Inquiries
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to racist e-mail inside force
This is
the "No-name"
case which
was in the news during the winter of 2003
Man sues police, ex-wife
for 'conspiracy'
By LORI COOLICAN , EDMONTON
SUN, February 7, 2004
A city man cleared of abuse
charges levelled by his former wife after a judge slammed cops
for "blind acceptance" of her story is now suing her,
the police and several witnesses. The 37-year-old paramedic -
who can't be named under a publication ban granted during his
trial last year - claims his ex-wife, along with her mother,
sister and a friend, defamed him by making up stories he'd abused
her physically and sexually during their four-year marriage,
which ended in 1998.
They and two Edmonton cops,
constables Merle Dick and Dan Duiker, "collectively engaged
in an unlawful conspiracy" to cause him mental anguish,
loss of freedom, humiliation and economic loss, says a statement
of claim filed by the man in Court of Queen's Bench Jan. 27.
The claim also names police
Chief Bob Wasylyshen as the head of the police force, though
he had no direct involvement. No statement of defence has been
filed in the case. Statements of claim contain allegations which
have not been proven in court.
Queen's Bench Justice Sterling
Sanderman acquitted the man of all charges last March and criticized
Edmonton police for arresting him based on affidavits and witness
statements gathered by his ex-wife and her family, without doing
any follow-up investigation of their own.
"There was no careful
analysis of the complaints that were being made. Worse, there
was no independent investigation ... So the validity of this
complaint was never properly tested by any police agency,"
Sanderman said.
Before his acquittal, the man
was also arrested for breaching a no-contact order with his wife
- by sending her a cheque and child-support payment information
by courier. Sanderman called that arrest "an unbalanced
approach" by police. The breach charge was dismissed.
The judge also noted that the
ex-wife and several witnesses bore some animosity toward the
man, and that she tried to use the charges he was facing as ammunition
in a custody battle over their seven-year-old son.
The suit, which asks for more
than $200,000 in damages, also alleges constables Dick and Duiker
"acted in a high-handed, arrogant and oppressive manner"
with the man despite his lack of a criminal record.
No-name
man launches civil suit against mischievous no-name woman: Feb.
2004
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No-name
cases and the new infantalization of women
Earlier this century women
fought for the right to vote claiming we were persons. Persons
with names. Now we see a reversion to unpersonhood as the following
story shows. The judge in this case is being asked to believe
a rather unlikely story -- and the defence lawyer is behind the
8-ball because a 26 year old woman is hiding behind the rape
shield law and the Jehovah Witness religion after having made
some rather whiney allegations against her husband. Having secured
anonymity for everyone connected to her, she has enlisted her
sister and her best friend as a witnesses.
Double, double toil and trouble
. . .
Four years elapsed between
the alleged incidents and the complaints. Fear is cited as the
reason for this lengthy interval.
What is she now afraid of?
Why is she asking her name be kept secret? She is not afraid.
She is ashamed. Ashamed to face up to the fact that this is a
custody battle and she is fighting unfairly to get an advantage.
Perhaps she wants an huge of this paramedic's salary as well.
Paramedics are not highly paid people. But she can put him in
the poor house if she can just get the kids . . .
Inside the court room she should
not be afraid. The bailiffs are there to protect her. Her husband
knows who she is. So what's the big bloody secret? Judges really
should be more careful about handing out publication bans.
It is entirely possible the
only thing being protected is mischief.
She didn't get away with it.
The charges didn't stick. The judge chastised the police for
laying charges based on affidavits gathered by a complainant
with an ax to grind.
The next thing we want to see
are charges being laid against such mischievous complainants.
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Judge slams shoddy cop
work
By ANDREA SANDS, COURT BUREAU,
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
A city paramedic was
found not guilty yesterday of abusing his ex-wife in a case riddled
with "diametrically opposed" evidence and "blind
acceptance" by cops, said a Court of Queen's Bench judge.
Justice Sterling Sanderman
said in his decision he didn't believe all the evidence from
the 36-year-old accused.
But Sanderman said he couldn't
convict based on evidence from the man's ex-wife, who tried to
use his criminal charges to bolster her bid for custody of their
seven-year-old son.
"She does attempt to turn
the charges made against (the accused) to her advantage,"
Sanderman noted.
The accused, who can't be named
to protect the identity of his ex-wife, was accused of sexually
and physically abusing the woman during a four-year marriage
that ended in 1998.
But Sanderman said the ex-wife
and several witnesses "bear some animosity" towards
the accused, making it "dangerous" to convict on their
evidence.
And Sanderman criticized police
for laying charges based on affidavits and witness statements
gathered by the woman and her family. Police arrested the accused
without any follow-up investigation after the woman went to cops
with her evidence in January 2002, he noted.
"There was no careful
analysis of the complaints that were being made. Worse, there
was no independent investigation," said Sanderman.
"So the validity of this
complaint was never properly tested by a police agency."
Sanderman also criticized police
for arresting the accused last month on allegations he breached
an order to have no contact with his ex-wife.
The woman called cops after
her ex-husband couriered a cheque and child-support-payment information
to her home, something cops viewed as "a grave breach"
of his conditions, Sanderman said.
"I find that to be an
unbalanced approach taken by the police service in this investigation."
Police spokesman Annette Bidniak
told The Sun yesterday police will review Sanderman's concerns.
"We take those comments very seriously."
Sex assault case now
rests with judge: Ex-wife says she was afraid to leave marriage
By TONY BLAIS, COURT BUREAU,
March 7, 2003
A judge is slated to
rule Monday on whether or not an Edmonton paramedic is guilty
of assaulting and sexually assaulting his former wife.
The 36-year-old, who can't
be named to protect the identity of his ex-wife, is accused of
slapping her, choking her, twisting her arm, hitting her with
a pot and a hockey stick, and kicking out a chair on which she
was standing, all during a four-year marriage she said she was
too afraid to leave.
The 26-year-old also said she
was prevented from leaving the marriage by her being a Jehovah's
Witness, a religion she said frowns on divorce unless there is
infidelity.
The man is also accused of
forcing unwanted anal sex on her.
In closing arguments yesterday,
defence lawyer Larry Anderson said the evidence of his client,
who denied the allegations ever happened, was not impeached.
As well, Anderson argued the complainant's evidence was evasive
and contradictory. "I would suggest she was not only a weak
witness, but also unreliable and not candid," said Anderson,
adding that even if his client was not believed, the allegations
were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Anderson also suggested the
allegations were made up by an angry and bitter woman who was
attempting to get sole custody of the former couple's seven-year-old
son.
Crown prosecutor Val Campbell
said the case comes down to the credibility of the witnesses.
She argued the former wife had gone to police because she believed
she was being stalked by her ex-husband, but said the charges
came later as a result of additional information being provided.
She disputed the statement
that the charges arose from the custody battle, saying custody
had already been settled and noting the police were never contacted
during the lengthy fight.
Regarding the chair-kicking
incident, Campbell said the woman's story was backed up by her
sister's testimony. She argued all charges were proven beyond
a reasonable doubt.
She added the alleged anal
rape just backed up the accused's "abusive and controlling
treatment" of his former spouse throughout their marriage.
Paramedic trial turns
into case of 'he-said, she-said'
By TONY BLAIS, COURT BUREAU,
Thursday, March 6, 2003
The trial of a city paramedic
charged with assaulting and sexually assaulting his former wife
has turned into a case of he-said, she-said.
The 36-year-old, who can't
be named to protect the identity of his 26-year-old ex-wife,
yesterday denied all of the accusations made against him, while
testifying in his own defence at his Court of Queen's Bench trial.
"It never happened,"
was his standard reply when asked about the specific allegations
in the charges.
He admitted there were various
problems in their marriage and he was "assertive" on
some things.
"(She) didn't like my
sharp tongue," he testified. "I wasn't tactful. I would
be sarcastic. I wasn't considerate."
However, he denied abusing
his former spouse and said he thinks she could be making up the
allegations to support her bid for sole custody of their seven-year-old
son.
The woman has testified her
former husband slapped her, choked her, twisted her arm, hit
her with a hockey stick and kicked out a chair she was standing
on during a four-year marriage she said she was too afraid to
leave.
She also said she was prevented
from leaving the marriage by her being a Jehovah's Witness, a
religion she said frowns on divorce unless there is infidelity.
The woman, who can't be identified
under a court-ordered publication ban, said the alleged sexual
assault happened when he forced unwanted anal sex on her.
Yesterday, the woman's best
friend testified that during the choking incident she also witnessed
the man hitting his then-wife on the head with a pot.
As well, the woman's sister
testified she witnessed the chair-kicking incident.
The marriage ended in 1998,
but the paramedic wasn't charged until after she went to police
in January 2002.
The man's boss said earlier
he will remain off work until the charges have been dealt with.
The trial continues today.
- Custody plot denied
- Ex-wife tells court
of being stalked
By TONY BLAIS, COURT BUREAU,
Edmonton Sun, Wednesday, March 5, 2003
The former wife of a city paramedic
charged with assaulting and sexually assaulting her denied yesterday
that she went to police as part of a custody battle over their
son.
Defence lawyer Larry Anderson
suggested to the 26-year-old woman in cross-examination that
she had made up all of the allegations because she didn't like
the way custody was being awarded in family court.
The woman testified that was
untrue and said she went to police because her ex-husband was
harassing her.
"I felt he was stalking
me," she said.
Court heard police told her
to bring in documented evidence and fill out witness statements
and the paramedic was eventually charged with beating his former
wife and sexually assaulting her, her sister and one of her friends.
Yesterday the Crown invited
the judge in the case to dismiss the latter two sex-assault charges.
The woman has testified that
her former spouse slapped her, choked her, twisted her arm, hit
her with a hockey stick and kicked out a chair she was standing
on during a four-year marriage she said she was too afraid to
leave.
She also said she was prevented
from leaving the marriage because she is of the Jehovah's Witness
faith, a religion she said frowns on divorce unless there is
infidelity.
The woman, who can't be identified
under a court-ordered publication ban, said the alleged sexual
assault happened when he forced unwanted anal sex on her.
The 36-year-old paramedic,
who can't be named to protect the identity of his former wife,
was charged after the woman went to police in January 2002.
The man's boss said earlier
the man will remain off work until the charges have been dealt
with.
The Court of Queen's Bench
trial continues today.
Paramedic's wife tells
of terror
By TONY BLAIS, COURT BUREAU,
March 4, 2003
An Edmonton paramedic went on trial yesterday accused of beating
his former wife and sexually assaulting her, her sister and one
of her friends.
The 26-year-old ex-wife testified
he slapped her, choked her, twisted her arm and kicked a chair
from under her while she was changing a light bulb during a four-year
marriage she said she was too afraid to leave.
"I was really, really
scared," she said, adding he threatened to flee with their
son and hurt her family.
She said her ex-husband once
told her he'd hunt (her) whole family down ... if she left him.
The soft-spoken woman said
she also was prevented from leaving the marriage by her faith
as a Jehovah's Witness, a religion she said frowns on divorce
unless one of the parties cheats on the other.
The woman, who can't be identified
under a court-ordered publication ban, testified her former husband
choked her until she passed out in 1994 during an argument while
they had friends over for dinner.
"He just looked at me
and squeezed," she said.
In 1996, she said she rebuked
him for belching into her face and he slapped her across the
cheek. The alleged chair-kicking incident also happened that
year, she said.
In 1997, she said her ex struck
her several times with a hockey stick after she allowed their
son to play hockey inside the home using his hockey tape as a
puck.
"He hit me across the
back of the legs with it," she said, adding on the same
day he also twisted her arm behind her back when she refused
to give him her bank card.
The alleged sexual assault
happened in 1998 when he forced unwanted anal sex on her, she
testified.
The woman described her former
husband as being controlling and highly egotistical about his
job as a paramedic.
"He used to say when people
are praying to God, they're praying to me...," she said.
The 36-year-old paramedic,
who can't be named to protect the identity of his former wife,
was charged after the woman went to police in January 2002. The
man's boss said earlier he will remain off work until the charges
have been dealt with.
The Court of Queen's Bench
trial continues today.
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
