Historical sexual assault case against former teacher wraps up in Halifax

A Nova Scotia judge has reserved his decision in the case of a former Halifax-area school teacher accused of historical sexual assaults.

Justice Richard Coughlan of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court heard final arguments on Friday and set May 24 for his verdict in the case of Jaddus Joseph Poirier, 82.

Two men have accused Poirier of sexually assaulting them when they were in their early teens and he was their teacher.

Poirier is facing two counts of sexual assault and two counts of gross indecency. The latter charge no longer exists in the Criminal Code but was in effect in the 1980s when the alleged offences occurred.

Poirier didn’t testify at his trial and didn’t provide any evidence.

Judge must assess credibility

He’s under no obligation to do so, but without any evidence from him, Coughlan must assess the credibility of the two accusers to determine whether the Crown has proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

In his closing arguments, Crown prosecutor Adam MacCauley said any discrepancies in their stories can be attributed to the passage of time and the fact that one of the men had tried to block memories of these events.

MacCauley said the men were honest and even admitted to things that might have undermined their credibility.

But defence lawyer Ian Hutchison said there are too many discrepancies to be ignored and they raise serious questions about the credibility of the men.

Hutchison reminded the judge that one of the men has launched a civil lawsuit against Poirier, and the man admitted when questioned that his lawsuit stood a better chance if Poirier was convicted of the criminal charges.

One of the men said Poirier assaulted him while he was sleeping over at the teacher’s apartment in north-end Dartmouth.

The other man accuses Poirier of assaulting him multiple times at the apartment, at the school and in the parking lot of a church.

The second man said he has only recently been able to shake a crack cocaine habit that had caused him to steal to feed his habit. He admitted to a lengthy criminal record.

Poirier did not attend the sentencing arguments.

He recently returned home from hospital and listened to proceedings on the phone. He has been in poor health and the trial only sat for half days because of his condition.