Lunenburg County man found guilty of raping 13-year-old girl in 1982

A Lunenburg County senior has been found guilty on a pair of historical charges of sexual abuse involving a 13-year-old girl.

Michael Lynn Wentzell, 71, of Voglers Cove stood trial this week in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Bridgewater on charges of rape and having sexual intercourse with a female under the age of 14.

The offences were allegedly committed in New Germany in 1982. The identity of the complainant is protected by a publication ban.
Justice Diane Rowe heard the evidence Tuesday and delivered the verdict Wednesday, finding Wentzell guilty on both counts.

The judge scheduled Wentzell’s sentencing hearing for Jan. 25. He remains free on the conditions of a May 2021 undertaking, which requires him to have no contact with the complainant and stay away from her residence and place of employment.

This is the second time Wentzell has been convicted of molesting a girl.

In December 2018, he pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation for raping a different girl in Voglers Cove countless times over an eight-year period between 2002 and 2010. 

He was sentenced in August 2019 to four years in prison, prohibited from having firearms for 10 years and ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Wentzell was granted parole after serving just one year of his sentence, a development that angered many people in the Voglers Cove area. His garage was tagged with graffiti after he was released from prison in 2020, and shots were fired at his house on at least two occasions in September and October 2021.

Wentzell’s parole was suspended in October 2021 after the Correctional Service of Canada learned he had violated a condition prohibiting him from consuming, purchasing or possessing alcohol.

In a subsequent interview, Wentzell admitted he had bought and drank alcohol on multiple occasions. He attributed his actions to the stress of being harassed and threatened by members of the community, and from the new charges.

The Parole Board of Canada lifted the suspension in January 2022, and Wentzell was released back into the community with special parole conditions.

The board said there was no question Wentzell was responsible for the circumstances that led to his parole suspension, and the correctional service was “prudent” to issue the warrants.

“However, the board is not satisfied that your risk is currently unmanageable,” the board said in its Jan. 5, 2022, decision. “It is the board’s opinion that you will not present an undue risk to society if released on full parole and that your release will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating your reintegration into society as a law-abiding citizen.”