REGINA – A decision was made in the Chad Kwiatkowski matter before Regina King’s Bench Court.
Justice Graeme Mitchell read a large part of his 34-page written decision this afternoon to an empty gallery, save lawyers and the accused.
Kwiatkowski, 52, faced charges of sexual assault and touching a person under 16 years of age for a sexual purpose. Given the age of the alleged victim at the time and the nature of the alleged crime, a publication ban was placed to protect identity.
At the beginning of the trial on Sept. 5, Kwiatkowski re-elected for a trial at King’s Bench, judge alone. He was arraigned on the charges, entering pleas of not guilty.
Court heard from four witnesses during the two-day trial, including the victim, her mother, an RCMP officer and the accused.
The charges are alleged to have occurred between 2016 and 2017 when Kwiatkowski was living in the home with the victim and her mother. While the exact timeline of how long he lived with the family was questioned many times during the trial, an eight-month period between late 2016 and early fall 2017 was eventually agreed on.
Court heard through testimony that Kwiatkowski was often in situations where he and the victim were alone. He was not employed at the time, but did maintenance around the home, volunteered in the community where they resided and completed household chores.
Through her testimony, the victim outlined three significant incidents she could recall, noting that several others had blurred with relation to exact dates of occurrence.
Kwiatkowski maintained his innocence throughout the trial, asked by both Crown and defence if he committed the acts for which he was accused. Each answer came with a definite “not, I did not.”
After lawyers presented their arguments on Sept. 6, Justice Graeme Mitchell noted he would reserve his decision until today. Testing the evidence presented at trial, Justice Mitchell concluded that - on the totality of the evidence - the Crown did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Kwiatkowski was guilty.
Justice Mitchell spoke of the reliability and credibility of testimony from the victim, her mother and Kwiatkowski, noting that the case comes down to a “he said, she said” situation.
“In this case, I found none of the witnesses to be particularly reliable,” said Justice Mitchell, giving the example of accounting for specific dates.
“Various discrepancies in the evidence of all witnesses made it difficult to for me to determine with any degree of certainty some important aspects of the evidence,” he continued, adding that while the witnesses were not particularly reliable, he couldn’t say any of them gave dishonest evidence.
“I accept that it is more likely than not that Mr. Kwiatkowski inappropriately touched [the victim] at some point time,” Justice Mitchell said, noting that he remains uncertain exactly what kind of touching occurred and when it transpired.
“However, our criminal law is unrelenting, and the burden it imposes on the Crown to prove all elements of these offences beyond a reasonable doubt requires that I be sure that Mr. Kwiatkowski is guilty as charged,” said Justice Mitchell. “I conclude that on the evidence presented in this trial, the Crown failed to satisfy this significant and onerous burden.”
He ultimately found Kwaitkowski not guilty of the two charges.
“Mr. Kwiatkowski, you are free to go,” Justice Mitchell said, closing court.
Kwiatkowski refused comment to SASKTODAY.ca after conclusion of the case, but his lawyer was pleased with the outcome.
“I don’t think I can put it better than the judge, thats tough,” said Bruce Campbell. “It is a tough case; it’s the age of the case as well.”
The Crown will review the written decision upon receipt and make a determination as to whether or not an appeal would be recommended.
“The Justice today had a doubt as to whether or not Mr. Kwiatkowski had been proven guilty,” said Crown prosecutor Aly Sparks. “It is a very high standard that we are tasked with meeting, and thats in recognition of the fact that accused persons do benefit from the presumption of innocence, and the Crown’s standard has to be beyond a reasonable doubt.”
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