Halifax man who touched female co-workers without consent gets conditional discharge

A Halifax judge has reluctantly accepted a joint recommendation from lawyers for a conditional discharge for a man who inappropriately touched three female co-workers while on the job.

Nathaniel Francis (Nate) Caravan, 27, of Halifax was scheduled to stand trial in provincial court this past September on three counts of sexual assault but instead pleaded guilty to one charge of the included offence of common assault. The charge was amended to include all three complainants.

At a recent sentencing hearing, Crown attorney Stephen Anstey said Caravan pressed his genitals against the backsides of the three women between December 2019 and February 2020 while working in a small Halifax shop. He also placed a hand on the buttocks of at least one of the women.

The Chronicle Herald is not naming the business because of a publication ban on the identities of the victims.

Caravan was fired after the women complained to their boss about his behaviour in February 2020. They went to police later, and Caravan was arrested and charged in March 2022.

Two of the women submitted victim impact statements for the sentencing hearing.

One of the victims told the court that Caravan “repeatedly broke my boundaries of personal space and safety by pushing his body and genitalia against mine, despite clearly and consistently being asked to stop.

“Because of Nate’s actions, I felt that my sense of safety at work was stolen from me, and what had been a safe, fun-loving workplace became stressful and toxic.”

She said the emotional impact of the assault lasted long after Caravan lost his job.

“In the months following the assaults, I experienced a range of emotional difficulties, including nightmares, anger and depression, for which I required counselling,” she wrote. “I often found it difficult to get out of bed for anything other than work.

“The impact of Nate’s actions has been wide-reaching and persistent in my daily life. It will take many years and therapeutic work for me to heal and experience freedom from the violation, fear and stress that I have experienced due to Nate’s disregard for my personal space and bodily autonomy.”

In the other impact statement, the victim said being violated at her former workplace “took so much away from me.”

“My workplace has always been a place of solitude, my safe space,” she said. “Then it got taken away just like that. It was somewhere I felt strong, confident and in control, and then I was left feeling small, damaged and weak. That really hurt.

“Something like this changes how you see the world. I’m still to this day always questioning people’s motives. As far as trusting people goes, it takes a lot, and even when you do, in the back of your head, you’re always still doing things to protect yourself just in case.”

‘Personal autonomy violated’

While the Crown agreed to let Caravan plead out on a charge of common assault, “we must not lose sight of what (he) is before the court for,” Anstey said in his sentencing submission.

“Three separate persons who worked in close proximity to Mr. Caravan had their personal autonomy violated. … These people were entitled to feel safe in their workplace.

“These were intentional offences. Mr. Caravan made the decision to touch these women without their consent. (He) needs to learn that it is unacceptable to touch a person if they do not want you to. … This was not playful. This was not joking. This was assault.”

Caravan’s presentence report said the first-time offender has learned his lesson from his involvement in the court process, and Anstey said he hopes that’s the case.

“We want to see Mr. Caravan make changes to his behaviour so that we don’t see him back before the court with another victim,” the prosecutor said.

Caravan will be on probation for one year, with conditions prohibiting him from having contact with the victims and requiring him to take part in any counselling deemed necessary by his probation officer.

If he successfully completes the probation period, he will not have a criminal conviction.

‘Significant bargaining’

Defence lawyer James Giacomantonio said the guilty plea was the result of “significant bargaining” with the prosecution and spared the complainants from having to testify at a multi-day trial.

“The victims were all supportive of this outcome,” he said.

Giacomantonio said Caravan, who has a university degree in music, is described by family and friends as a quiet, introverted and gentle individual.

He said Caravan suffered depression and anxiety because of the allegations and began private counselling to address his issues and gain insight into his social skills and abilities.

“It’s fair to say, at least in some regards, he’s socially immature,” Giacomantonio said of his client.

Caravan was not considerate of the space he was working in or the space of the victims, the lawyer explained.

“He should have taken more time to be more aware of what he was doing, and he regrets deeply making anyone feel uncomfortable,” Giacomantonio said.

“These were not minor events for these women.”

He said a conditional discharge was within the appropriate sentencing range for the offence, would be in Caravan’s best interests and would not be contrary to the public interest.

‘Don’t downplay it’

Judge Gregory Lenehan said he would go along with the discharge because he was sentencing Caravan for the offence of assault, “but let’s not minimize the facts.”

“I’m not accepting this comment that you were not considerate of the personal space of the victims,” Lenehan said. “This has nothing to do with personal space. This is their … person. This is their bodies.”

Lenehan said that before he went into law, he worked in several different places, including retail stores, bars and beer gardens.

“I have worked in close proximity to people,” he said, his voice rising. “I have never, never had the occasion where I had to press my groin up against the butt of some young woman who I’m working with.”

Caravan’s conduct violated the personal integrity of his co-workers and was assaultive, “plain and simple,” the judge said.

“Don’t downplay it,” Lenehan told Caravan. “Don’t anybody else downplay it.

“There is one thing that is absolutely clear here, (as) your counsel said — you are socially immature. Grow up, because if this ever happens again, trying to describe this as anything less than a sexual assault is not going to fly.”