3 northern Manitoba sex crime cases tossed due to delays in 2024

Three criminal cases in Manitoba were recently thrown out of court due to excessive delays, all involving men accused of sex crimes in the northern part of the province. The cases were linked to Flin Flon and two remote First Nations communities, South Indian Lake and Pukatawagan, both of which are not accessible by road year-round.

The delays in these cases were attributed to issues with police in disclosing witness statements and evidence in a timely manner. This ultimately led to the charges against each man being stayed. Legal experts, including Winnipeg lawyer Victoria Perrie, expressed concerns about the impact of these delays on the pursuit of justice in Indigenous communities, highlighting how systemic delays can disproportionately harm marginalized groups.

The Supreme Court’s 2016 Jordan ruling, which sets limits on the time between a person being charged and the anticipated end of a trial, was invoked in these cases. However, the delays in providing crucial evidence and witness statements resulted in the charges being stayed before a verdict could be reached. This lack of resolution can create stigma for the accused and a sense of mistrust in the legal system for complainants.

Sexual crimes are already underreported, with Indigenous women being more likely to experience sexual assault but less likely to have confidence in the police. The dismissal of these cases due to delays further exacerbates these issues, perpetuating cycles of trauma and mistrust.

In one of the cases, a 28-year-old man was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in South Indian Lake. The delays in providing witness statements led to the charges being stayed, despite the fact that the statements were taken by the RCMP on the same day the assault was reported.

Similarly, in another case involving a Pukatawagan man, delays in obtaining crucial statements from the mother of the alleged victim resulted in the charges being stayed. The judge in this case emphasized the responsibility of the Crown to ensure that cases move forward in a timely manner.

The most recent case involved child pornography charges against a Flin Flon man, which were stayed due to a delay in providing a phone analysis from the police. The judge deemed the 21-month wait for trial to be unreasonable, highlighting the importance of timely justice.

Overall, these cases underscore the need for the justice system to address delays and ensure that cases are brought to trial in a timely manner. The impact of delays on both the accused and the victims of sexual violence cannot be understated, and efforts must be made to prevent such injustices from occurring in the future.