REGINA – A decision into alleged sexual touching and assault occurring over a four-year period was made in Regina Court of King’s Bench today.
Garth Adams had earlier entered not guilty pleas on both charges before him, relating to events that took place between Jan. 1, 2015 and July 1, 2019. A publication ban in this case protects the identity of the victim and witnesses who testified.
The victim, now 16 years of age, gave testimony on three particular incidents - the first occurring in the victim’s home while a caregiver was in the residence. The victim was nine years old at the time, and described inappropriate touched by Adams while playing a board game. She also stated that twice a month between 2015 and 2019, Adams found occasion for continued inappropriate touching. The victim then described an incident occurring at the local school over the summer of 2019.
While Justice Keith Kilback noted the victim was not able to recall some details during her video statement, he was satisfied that her testimony was reliable and credible.
“While children may not be able to recount precise details and communicate the 'when' and the 'where' of an event with exactitude, this does not mean that the evidence conceived, what happened to them and who did it,” said Justice Kilback, quoting similar case law while reading his decision. “Since children may experience the world differently from adults, it is hardly surprising that details important to adults - like time and place - may be missing from their recollection.”
At issue was the allegation of one event the victim stated occurred over the summer of 2019 while assisting Adams with janitorial work at a school. Adams had actually resigned in early April of that year, introducing an inconsistent timeline.
“The fact that (victim’s name) may be mistaken about the timing of when the incident in the Kindergarten room happened does not, by itself, establish that her testimony about the incident or the other incidents she described is not credible,” said Justice Kilback.
Ultimately, Justice Kilback was convinced that the Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt main factors regarding the charges. For the first charge, the Crown verified that the victim was under the age of 16 at the time of the offences (she was between nine and 13), and that the touching was for a sexual purpose. As for the second charge, the Crown found that there was intent to apply force, that the victim did not consent, and that Adams knew she did not consent; further, that the incident took place with circumstances of a sexual nature.
Justice Kilback found Adams guilty on both charges.
In terms of sentencing, the defence requested a pre-sentence report. Given that such reports take time to assemble, the date for sentencing arguments was set at Sept. 18 in Regina King’s Bench Court.
“The Crown is very happy with the decision today,” Crown prosecutor Patrick Malone told SASKTODAY.ca. “We felt that we had a reasonable likelihood of conviction.”
In terms of sentencing, the charge of sexual touching of a person under 16 years of age offers a range from one to 14 years imprisonment.
Malone pointed to the landmark case R. v Friesen, 2020, which has become a guideline in sentencing such cases. The Supreme Court case held that sentences for offences involving sexual abuse against children should be increased, and also a principle of parity that requires similar sentences imposed for similar conduct.
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