R. v. A.L., 2014 NSSC 402

SUPREME COURT OF Nova Scotia Citation: R. v. A.L. , 2014 NSSC 402 Date: 20141112 Docket: CRH 413742 Registry: Halifax Between: Her Majesty the Queen v. A.L. Restriction on Publication: Pursuant to CC s. 486.4 Editorial Notice: Identifying information has been removed from this electronic version of the judgment. Judge: The Honourable Justice Joshua M.

Arnold Heard: March 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 2014; April 11 and 17, 2014, September 17, 2014 and November 12, 2014, in Halifax, Nova Scotia Final Written Submissions: July 25, 2014 Written Release of Decision: December 18, 2014 Counsel: Roland Levesque, for Her Majesty the Queen Thomas Singleton, for the Accused By the Court: Overview [ 1 ] C.S. alleges that in 2002, when she was 10 years old, her mother, B.S., started a relationship with a new boyfriend, A.L. A.L. was in his late 40’s when he first met B.S. and was involved in a successful […] business.

B.S., C.S. and J.S (son of B.S. and brother of C.S.) began to spend time overnight at A.L.’s home. Eventually the trio moved in with A.L. as a family unit. C.S. testified that shortly after she began spending time at A.L.’s home, her life changed significantly. C.S. alleges that she was subjected to years of constant sexual and physical abuse at the hands of A.L.

A.L. denies all of the allegations made by C.S. [ 2 ] The testimony in this judge alone trial included evidence on behalf of the Crown from C.S., J.L. (A.L.’s estranged biological son), J.P. (C.S.’s high school same-sex partner), J.H. (mother of J.P.) and Constable McGowan (the police investigator). On behalf of the defence the Court heard from B.S., J.S. and A.L. [ 3 ] The testimony and submissions took place over seven days in March and April 2014, and counsel’s final legal submissions arrived at the end of July 2014.

The Charges [ 4 ] A.L. stands charged: 1) that he between the 31 st day of December, 2001 and the 1 st day of January, 2009 at, or near […] , in the County of Halifax in the Province of Nova Scotia, did unlawfully commit a sexual assault on C.S., contrary to Section 271(1) (

a) of the Criminal Code .

2) AND FURTHER THAT HE AT THE SAME TIME AND PLACE AFORESAID, did unlawfully assault C.S., contrary to

Section 266 of the Criminal Code . 3) AND FURTHER THAT HE AT THE SAME TIME AND PLACE AFORESAID, did unlawfully utter a threat to C.S. to cause bodily harm or death to the said C.S., contrary to

Section 264.1(1) (

a) of the Criminal Code . 4) AND FURTHER THAT HE AT THE SAME PLACE AFORESAID between the 31 st day of December, 2001 to the 3 rd day of June, 2005, did for a sexual purpose touch C.S., a person under the age of fourteen years, directly or indirectly with a part of his body, to wit: his penis, contrary to

Section 151 of the Criminal Code . 5) AND FURTHER THAT HE AT THE SAME PLACE AFORESAID between the 31 st day of December, 2001 to the 3 rd day of June, 2005, did for a sexual purpose invite C.S., a person under the age of fourteen years, to touch directly or indirectly with a part of his body, to wit: his penis, the body of A.L. contrary to

Section 152 of the Criminal Code . 6) AND FURTHER THAT HE AT THE SAME PLACE AFORESAID between the 2 nd day of June, 2005 to the 1 st day of January, 2009, being in a position of trust or authority towards C.S., a young person, did for a sexual purpose touch directly or indirectly the body of C.S., a young person, with a part of his body, to wit: his penis, contrary to Section 153(1) (

a) of the Criminal Code . Facts [ 5 ] C.S. was born June […], 1991. She was 22 years old at the time she testified during this trial. She alleges that A.L. committed various assaults upon her, sexual and otherwise, between December 2001 and October 2008, while she was living in his home. C.S. alleges countless instances of sexual activity with A.L., as well as assaults and threats by him. At all material times, A.L. was the common-law husband of B.S., C.S.’s mother. [ 6 ] C.S. has faced many challenges in her life. Her parents separated when she was eight years old. C.S. and J.S. lived with their mother, B.S.

Following the marital breakup, money was tight and C.S., J.S. and B.S. lived in a duplex in Cole Harbour for a little over a year, paid for by B.S.’s parents. [ 7 ] C.S. testified that B.S. worked long hours for […] and prior to meeting A.L. when not working, whether during the week or on weekends, B.S. would spend her time away from the home playing video gambling machines.

C.S. testified that B.S. spent little time looking after her and J.S. during that time period, leaving the young children to either look after themselves or rely on their maternal grandmother to look after them. [ 8 ] C.S. was attending elementary school (grade six) near their home when B.S. introduced A.L. to C.S. as “her boyfriend”. After that first introduction to her mother’s new boyfriend, C.S. testified that she, J.S. and B.S. spent weekends at A.L.’s home. This progressed to the family spending weekdays there as well.

Eventually, she, J.S. and B.S. moved into A.L.’s home sometime during her grade six year. [ 9 ] J.L. is A.L.’s biological son. He is a few years older than C.S. During much of the relevant time period J.L. spent every third weekend at A.L.’s house. J.L. eventually had a falling out with A.L. and never returned to the home. [ 10 ] A.L.’s house is described by C.S. as being a two story building. When C.S. first moved into A.L.’s home she was given her own bedroom upstairs. J.S. was also given his own bedroom upstairs and B.S. and A.L. shared the master bedroom upstairs.

During the first few years C.S. was living there A.L. had an office downstairs in the home. If J.L. came for a weekend visit he would either sleep on a couch downstairs or use J.S.’s bed if J.S. was out for the night staying with friends. After a period of time A.L. built an outbuilding that housed his office and C.S. created a bedroom downstairs where A.L.’s office had been located. C.S. moved out of A.L.’s home in October 2008 and has had little or no contact with B.S., J.S., J.L. or A.L. since moving out.

Moving Date [ 11 ] Defence counsel pointed out that C.S.’s recollection of the date her family moved in with A.L. in 2002 differed slightly from the recollection of the defence witnesses. [ 12 ] C.S. testified that she was in grade six when she was introduced to A.L. as her mother’s new boyfriend. She testified that the family stayed at A.L.’s home off and on that winter at her mother’s convenience. C.S. was not certain when the family’s official move to A.L.’s home took place but thought was during the winter of her grade six year, possibly sometime after Christmas.

Defence counsel pointed out that during the Preliminary Inquiry C.S. stated she thought that the move took place in April. [ 13 ] B.S. testified that C.S. was born in 1991. She confirmed that she met A.L. in May 2002 and started a relationship with him in July 2002. She stated that the family starting traveling to A.L.’s place in September 2002 and by January 2003 B.S. decided to switch their schools and move in with him permanently. [ 14 ] J.S. also testified that he and C.S. switched schools in January or February 2003.

Reading [ 15 ] C.S. testified that shortly after she moved into A.L.’s house, A.L. started to come into her room at bedtime to read. During those first “reading” sessions C.S. describes A.L. as kissing her on the lips when he finished reading. Not long after the kissing started, C.S described A.L. started fondling her above her clothes. She says that this quickly progressed to A.L. fondling her under her clothes.

Shortly thereafter she stated A.L. asked her to touch his penis, then to rub his penis and eventually A.L. exposed his penis and asked her to rub it. [ 16 ] C.S. testified that when the touching progressed under her clothing A.L. would instruct her to take off her shirt or take off her pants but to remain under the covers. He would then touch her chest, vagina and bottom.

During the course of touching C.S., A.L. would tell her, “I love you”, “you’re doing good things” and provided her with specific direction as to how to reciprocate by touching his penis. [ 17 ] C.S. said she wore either pajamas or t-shirt and pajama pants when she first began living at A.L.’s house. She testified that A.L. eventually bought her a nightgown to make it easier for him to access her during these evening sessions of molestation.

C.S. testified that eventually A.L. would come into her room to molest her almost every week night under the pretext of reading. [ 18 ] C.S. described A.L. wearing a cellphone attached to his pants. She stated that on at least three occasions a call came in while A.L. was touching her and he either: continued; kissed her on the lips and then left to take the call; or, resumed touching her when the call was finished. [ 19 ] According to C.S., A.L. would pretend he was reading to her to cover up what was really going on. C.S said that he most often feigned reading Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher .

She stated that during these “reading” sessions the lights in her room would be turned off but her door would always be partly opened with the hallway light turned on. [ 20 ] C.S. said that B.S. was often downstairs while this was going on. The house was old and had squeaky stairs so A.L. and C.S. could hear if B.S. was coming upstairs. [ 21 ] C.S. said that on one occasion while the nightly “reading” was going on, she could hear squeaking as B.S. started to come up the stairs. Shortly thereafter, she said B.S. took her aside and told her that she was too old to have someone read to her.

C.S. told A.L. about her mother’s comments and A.L. instructed her to tell her mother that she was just happy to have a father figure involved in her life. She said this seemed to mollify B.S. [ 22 ] C.S. described this nighttime “reading” as going on from shortly after she moved in in 2002 until sometime in 2003. She stated that when she started school again in September 2003, A.L. was still “reading” to her. C.S. cannot be precise as to when it stopped. [ 23 ] C.S. was adamant that A.L. never read to her brother, J.S. [ 24 ] B.S. testified that C.S.’s bedtime was between 9:00-9:30 p.m. The family had pet dogs.

According to B.S., at night A.L. would go up to read to both of the kids, typically C.S. first because she was younger. B.S. would take the dogs outside at that time. B.S. testified that on her way to bed she would observe A.L. reading to C.S. Once at the top of the stairs B.S. could see into C.S.’s room where her bed was located. B.S. testified that during these reading sessions she observed C.S.’s door open and A.L. sitting on floor reading while C.S. was lying in bed. [ 25 ] According to B.S., A.L. would read to C.S. for 15-20 minutes and then read to J.S. for 15-20 minutes.

B.S. said that she had no idea what A.L. may have been reading to her kids. She also acknowledged that most of the time when she was heading upstairs to bed, A.L. would be finished reading to C.S. Additionally, B.S. agreed that the stairs were old and squeaky.

Therefore, anyone upstairs would be alerted to someone coming up the stairs. [ 26 ] B.S. testified that the nighttime reading only went on for a couple of months, from September 2002 (before the family “officially” moved in) to sometime in January 2003. [ 27 ] In her testimony, B.S. stated that she definitely observed A.L. reading to J.S. and that usually when she was heading upstairs to bed, A.L. would be finishing reading to J.S.

This raises the question: if A.L. read to C.S. before J.S., and if B.S. was usually going to bed when A.L. was finishing reading to J.S., how could she see what may have been happening in C.S.’s room? [ 28 ] According to J.S. he usually went to bed around 10:00 p.m. once the family was essentially living at A.L.’s home. C.S. went to bed a little earlier than he did. According to J.S., A.L. only read to them for the first little while after they moved in. [ 29 ] J.S. described the bedtime routine as starting with A.L. reading to C.S. in her room. He said that he could hear A.L. reading to C.S. at night.

Once finished reading to C.S., A.L. would then go into J.S.’s room to read to him. When the family initially moved in with A.L., J.S. said he always kept his door opened. J.S. testified that C.S. also always kept her door opened at night because she was scared of the dark and as a result made sure her room was well lit. Generally, according to J.S., while A.L. was upstairs reading to the kids, B.S. would be downstairs. [ 30 ] J.S. also testified that he would overhear A.L. reading Stephen King novels to C.S. A.L. would read shark stories to J.S.

According to J.S., the routine of bedtime reading was of such a short duration that they never actually made it all the way through the shark book. J.S. stated that A.L. stopped reading to him and C.S. at same time because his work got in the way. According to J.S., if the family moved in permanently in January 2003, by June or July that same year A.L.’s work load increased such that he was gone many evenings and had stopped reading to the kids. Between 2003 and 2005, J.S. said that while A.L. was out most nights working he would occasionally be home by the time the kids got to bed.

In 2005, A.L. hired more employees and was home more evenings, but he did not resume the reading routine. [ 31 ] A.L. also testified about the bedtime reading routine. His initial testimony during direct examination was that between September and December 2002 he would go into C.S.’s room and read to her while sitting on her bed. He said that the door to her room

was always open and the lights were always on. A.L. stated that this usually occurred between 8:00-8:30 p.m. while B.S. was downstairs. Once finished reading to C.S., he read to J.S. between 9:00-9:30 p.m. According to A.L. he stopped reading to the kids permanently around January 2003.

A.L. stated that during the brief time period he was reading to the kids, he did so only sporadically, no more than two or three times per week. [ 32 ] Later in his direct examination, A.L. testified that C.S. would lie in bed while he read to her but he would only sit on the floor of the room right by her bedroom door while reading. He reiterated his testimony in this regard on cross- examination and denied testifying on direct examination that he sat on C.S.’s bed while reading to her.

It was only after the recording of his earlier testimony was played back in Court that A.L. reluctantly agreed that he probably sat on her bed at some point. A.L. may have legitimately been mistaken or he may have let the fact that he sat on C.S.’s bed “slip” and was attempting to cover up that admission. Routines [ 33 ] C.S. testified that A.L. was able to molest her on a regular basis because her mother, B.S., was rarely home, and when she was home, was disinterested in her children.

C.S. also testified that her older brother, J.S. was rarely home and that when he was home he was also so disinterested in C.S. that he did not notice what A.L. was doing with her. A.L.’s Work Routine [ 34 ] J.S. testified that once he and C.S. had switched schools, by January or February 2003, they usually got home from school around the same time in the afternoon. J.S. explained that A.L. became very busy with work in 2003 and was not often home when the kids were awake until 2005.

If A.L was not home then he would not be “reading” to C.S. or molesting her at bedtime. [ 35 ] B.S. testified that once the family moved into A.L.’s home, a normal weekday consisted of A.L. leaving for work by 7:30 a.m., B.S. leaving by 7:50 a.m., with the kids either getting to school by bus or getting a drive. They would arrive home from school by 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. A.L. returned home between 5:30 and 9:00 p.m. depending on his job site location. [ 36 ] A.L. testified that in 2002 he started his own business and had lots of morning and evening work calls.

He said that from 2002 onward he left home anytime between 6:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. and as a result he was generally gone before the kids left for school. He worked until 6:30 p.m. or later and was generally not home when they arrived home from school. He said that he never ate supper with the family. In addition, A.L. testified that he was on call every second or third night.

By January 2003, his business had new contracts requiring him to do service calls as far away as Bridgewater. [ 37 ] A.L. testified during direct examination that he was frequently away working and as a result had no opportunity to molest C.S. However, on cross-examination A.L. agreed that during the six years C.S. lived in his home, he certainly was alone with her on occasion. B.S.’s Work Routine [ 38 ] A.L.’s son, J.L., testified that according to a custody arrangement, every two weeks he would stay at A.L.’s home for a weekend during the first few years that C.S., B.S. and J.S. were living with A.L.

J.L. testified that when he was staying at the house, B.S. was usually at the home on weekends unless she was working. [ 39 ] According to B.S., she worked for […] at various locations on all weekdays all day (8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) and one weekday evening per week, usually either Wednesday or Thursday evening. On those evening shift dates she would leave home at noon and not return home until 9:00-10:00 p.m. [ 40 ] B.S. said she had one Saturday off per month. She testified that on weekends, the kids would usually be up by the time she left for work.

According to B.S.’s testimony, A.L. would either be up or gone to work by the time she left for work on the weekends. B.S. agreed that on many weekends she was not home during daytime hours due to work. [ 41 ] B.S. testified that in September 2007 she entered Dalhousie University as a part-time student. She was on short-term disability with a medical issue between September 13, 2008 and October 23, 2008 when she returned to work. She stayed at home the month she was on disability.

The defence raises this as significant because C.S. testified that there were no long periods that A.L. did not molest her while she was living in the home. The implication is that if B.S. was home on disability she would have noticed A.L. molesting C.S. [ 42 ] There was additional evidence concerning B.S.’s hours of work. According to J.S., B.S. worked all weekdays, one night per week and had one weekend off per month. Prior to Sunday shopping, B.S. worked Saturday nights.

Once Sunday shopping came into effect, she worked either Saturday or Sunday nights. [ 43 ] According to A.L., from 2002-2007, B.S. worked 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and once per week had an evening shift of either noon- 9:00 p.m. or 1:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. B.S. also worked Saturdays or Sundays off and on, depending on when Sunday shopping became available. He would therefore be home with the kids on many weekends when B.S. was at work.

J.S.’ Routine [ 44 ] According to C.S., although he was just a couple of years older than her, J.S. was often not home due to an active social life, work and skateboarding. [ 45 ] J.L. corroborated C.S.’s testimony in this regard and stated that J.S. was rarely home during his weekend visits, as he was often out skateboarding with friends. J.L. also stated then when J.S. was home, he was often in his room playing video games. [ 46 ] B.S. presented what appeared to be a toned down version of J.S.’s schedule.

According to B.S., J.S. spent some evenings out with friends skateboarding and some evenings he would be home. During the school year, J.S. would be home on most weekends, but

during the summer there were some weekends he was away at friends’ homes. When J.S. turned 16 he obtained a part-time job and had to stay home a little more because of that responsibility. [ 47 ] A.L. testified that “in later years” J.S. was out skateboarding frequently. [ 48 ] J.S. testified that C.S. did her homework right after school, while he did his own after supper. J.S. acknowledged that he was a skateboarder but said that weeknights were school nights so it was difficult for him to get out of the house. Therefore, he says his skateboarding mainly occurred on the weekends.

Intercourse [ 49 ] C.S. was born June […], 1991. She testified that about two weeks after her eleventh birthday in June 2002, a friend of hers had stayed over for the weekend. Sometime soon after this sleepover, on a rainy Saturday or Sunday, midmorning sometime between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., while B.S. was at work and J.S. was out skateboarding with friends, C.S. was in her room playing with her Barbie dolls. She said that A.L. came into her room and began to play Barbies with her. After a short time playing Barbies, he asked her to come into his bedroom. A.L. told her that they were going to play together.

He instructed C.S. to take off her clothes. She recalled that A L. was wearing a purple sweater. A.L. then took off his pants. She described him as wearing black underwear with a white waistband. A.L. instructed her to take off her own underwear, then took his underwear off. [ 50 ] C.S. said that at A.L.’s direction, she lay down on his bed on her back with her legs spread. A.L. told her that he was too nervous to achieve an erection. Eventually A.L. did achieve an erection. A.L. began to have intercourse with C.S. C.S. describes the event as hurting a little bit and not lasting very long.

Eventually she says that A.L. withdrew his penis from her vagina and ejaculated into his own hand. She said that A.L. then told her that he was proud of her because she had done so well. C.S. then went downstairs to the washroom to clean up. C.S. advised the Court that after this event she found blood in her underwear. [ 51 ] Following that first incident of intercourse, C.S. said A.L. took her out to lunch at the Irving Big Stop in Enfield.

On the way home from the Irving Big Stop he told her variously: “ I love you”, “keep this a secret”, “this is a good thing”, “it will feel better next time” and “if you keep doing this I will make sure that your family is well taken care of”. On their way home from the Big Stop, A.L. received a work service call and dropped C.S. off at their house. [ 52 ] C.S. testified that the promise by A.L. to take care of her family if she continued to have sex with him was very significant to her. She described the difference in lifestyle prior to living with A.L. as “huge”.

Prior to living with A.L., she said was a period of time when her family did not always have enough money for food or home heating. [ 53 ] A.L. agreed that he had taken C.S. to the Irving Big Stop for lunch while she was living with him. He denies having intercourse with C.S., denied taking C.S. to the Big Stop after intercourse and denied telling her not to talk about intercourse. [ 54 ] C.S. said that after that first incident of intercourse when she was eleven years old, A.L. had regular intercourse with her until she moved out at age sixteen.

Generally, she said A.L. would have sex with her on either Wednesday or Thursday evenings or Saturday mornings when B.S. was at work. C.S. also claimed that she had intercourse with A.L. many times while accompanying him on work service calls. C.S stated that as time went on she tried on several occasions to discourage A.L. from his sexual advances, but this caused him to react in an intensely abusive fashion and she was unable to stop him. [ 55 ] C.S. explained to the Court that A.L. expected her to come to his room and get in bed with him after B.S. left for work as long as they could avoid J.S.

If J.S. was home, C.S. explained that he usually had the television on and they would often have intercourse anyway. C.S. said she would make sure she always had a blanket close at hand and would cover up immediately if she felt in danger of being discovered.

She said that J.S. came into A.L.’s bedroom on a couple of occasions when C.S. was in bed with A.L., but never asked why she was there or what she was doing. [ 56 ] J.S. testified that he never saw C.S. in bed with A.L. and did not recall ever seeing C.S. in the master bedroom with A.L. [ 57 ] C.S. said that after the first instance of intercourse, there were no protracted periods of time when she did not have intercourse with A.L., except on a couple of occasions when she and J.S. were away on vacation.

B.S. said that she was home for a month on disability between September 13, 2008 and October 23, 2008, so there would have been little opportunity for C.S. and A.L. to have been alone together having sex. [ 58 ] A.L. denied any intercourse with C.S. He initially testified that he worked so often that he had little opportunity to be alone with her. In cross-examination, A.L. agreed that he could have been home alone with C.S. [ 59 ] J.P. testified that prior to dating C.S. she was not at her home very often.

However, during the ten months that they dated prior to C.S. moving out, J.P. said that she was at A.L.’s home early in the morning on school days and almost every weekend. Therefore, during those final ten months there would have been less opportunity for A.L. to molest C.S. [ 60 ] After she started dating J.P., C.S. said she had intercourse with A.L. on a couple of final occasions. C.S. could not remember the last time she had sexual intercourse with A.L. The Doors [ 61 ] C.S.’s bedroom was on the upper floor of A.L.’s home for the first few years they lived there.

Her room was located immediately adjacent to J.S.’s room, on the same level as the master bedroom where B.S. and A.L. slept. The condition of J.S.’s door and the lock on C.S.’s bedroom door became an issue at trial. The Door to J.S.’s Room

[ 62 ] C.S. advised that when she first moved into A.L.’s home she and J.S. each had their own rooms, immediately adjacent to each other. C.S. described J.S.’s door as being old and squeaky. Anyone on the upper floor could hear when J.S. was opening his door. According to C.S., J.S. asked to have his door fixed but A.L. said no to that request. [ 63 ] J.S. described the door to his own room as having no door handle. As a result it would not stay shut. He said he jammed a box or step stool against the door to keep it closed.

There were such large cracks on the door frame that his bedroom door barely stayed on. [ 64 ] B.S. also testified that J.S.’ door was old and had no doorknob or handle. As a result J.S. used a footstool to prop it closed. [ 65 ] A.L. testified that J.S.’s room had an unfinished door frame, no door knob and was barely on its hinges. He agreed that the door to J.S.’ room was never repaired. [ 66 ] Having this dilapidated door could have assisted A.L. in molesting C.S. undetected, since J.S. had to prop his door closed and if opened the door would make enough noise to alert A.L. and C.S.

On the other hand, J.S. said his bedroom door was open at bedtime. The Door to C.S.’s Room [ 67 ] A.L. testified that C.S. and J.S. did not get along. At one stage, he said C.S. was slamming her door so often he removed it for one week. [ 68 ] A.L. also testified that the door to C.S.’s room did not always have a lock on it. He said C.S. complained that J.S. would come in to her room, “poke and pick at her” and take things from her.

Therefore, sometime during 2003, A.L. stated he put a hasp on the inside of C.S.’s door so that she could swing it shut and lock it when she was in her own room without being bothered by J.S. A.L. denied that he placed a hasp on the inside of J.S.’ door so that he could molest her without someone walking in on him. [ 69 ] C.S. testified that A.L. accused her of trying to have intercourse with J.L. because he had seen them in her room playing video games one evening. C.S. said that A.L. then temporarily removed her door from the hinges so that she could not shut her door when J.L. was visiting.

C.S. expanded on this and stated that A.L. later threatened to take her bedroom door off again when J.L. and a friend of his were staying at the home as A.L. felt C.S. was being too friendly to them. She denied that A.L. removed her door because she was slamming it. [ 70 ] C.S. testified that J.S. did not go into her room to steal things or bother her. She says she was a large girl and could handle her brother. C.S. said she never asked A.L. for a hasp or lock on her door. The hasp was locked with a small luggage-style padlock.

According to C.S., one key hung in her closet and A.L. kept the other key. [ 71 ] C.S. said that toward the end of her grade seven year, A.L started telling the family that he was going into C.S.’s room to help her with her homework. Once announced, A.L. would enter her room, lock the hasp, help her with her homework and then have intercourse with her. [ 72 ] C.S. testified that if J.S. was really bothering her, if given an option she would have asked for an exterior lock on her bedroom door, not an interior one.

She said the hasp was put on the interior of her door for one reason only, to allow her and A.L. to have intercourse in her room without risk of discovery. The Bed [ 73 ] C.S. testified that she was initially given a single mattress on an older metal bed frame when she arrived at A.L.’s house. According to C.S., the bed frame proved too noisy during A.L.’s molestation of her, particularly during intercourse. C.S. therefore told B.S. that she did not like the metal bed and slept with her mattresses on the floor of her room, not in the bed frame.

She said A.L. eventually removed the metal bed frame from her room. [ 74 ] C.S. told the Court that when she moved to the downstairs’ bedroom she set the metal bed frame up in that room. She said that she went to the mattress store with A.L. when A.L. purchased J.S. a new bed and frame and at that time he also bought her a new mattress. C.S. testified that she did not receive a new box spring as she did not need one. She could not recall if B.S. also came to the mattress store when the purchases were made. [ 75 ] During cross-examination, C.S. was shown a receipt purportedly for the new mattress or bed.

She denied ever having seen the receipt previously and was confused as to whether her new mattress was a twin size or single size. [ 76 ] According to B.S.’s testimony C.S. always had a metal frame on her bed and never slept upstairs on the floor on a mattress.

B.S. stated that when C.S. moved downstairs they bought her a new twin size box spring and mattress. [ 77 ] When C.S. moved out of A.L.’s home and into J.H.’s home, B.S. said the same twin size metal frame bed, box spring and mattress were delivered to her there. [ 78 ] J.S. testified that when she was living upstairs, C.S. had a single bed with an old wooden frame. When C.S. moved downstairs she had a bed about the same size, twin or double, with a box spring and mattress. [ 79 ] A.L. said that C.S.’s first bed, when in the upstairs bedroom, was an old fashioned spring frame, tubular steel bed with a headboard.

A.L. says that C.S. slept in the same bed, not on a mattress on the floor, until she moved downstairs in 2007. A.L. claimed that C.S.’s bed was not taken out of her room upstairs until she moved downstairs. [ 80 ] A.L. stated that in 2007, they bought C.S. a twin box spring and mattress. He said B.S. was with him when he made the purchase. That new bed was used by C.S. when she stayed in the downstairs bedroom and was eventually delivered to J.H.’s house when C.S. moved out.

The Tent [ 81 ] C.S. told the Court on direct examination that during the summer following grade six, just after her eleventh birthday, A.L. told her that he owned a tent and proposed the idea of setting it up in their yard near the driveway. According to C.S., A.L. told her that they could have sex in the tent and spend the entire night together. The small tent was set up in the yard and C.S. said she spent the night in the tent with A.L. During the night A.L. slept closer to the tent entrance.

According to C.S., the first night in the tent A.L. touched her breasts but did not attempt further sexual activity. [ 82 ] After spending a couple more nights in that small tent, C.S. said A.L. bought a larger tent and an air mattress. A.L. told her that sleeping on the ground hurt his back. He spent several nights with her in the larger tent over the course of the summer. C.S. described to the Court that A.L. had intercourse with her at night while they were alone together in the tent.

C.S. alleged that intercourse in the tent with A.L. occurred between two and four times over the course of that summer. [ 83 ] C.S. testified that on one occasion when she tried to leave the tent to use the washroom after having intercourse, she noticed that the zipper was locked by a small master lock. C.S. was unable to unzip the tent as a result of the lock. [ 84 ] C.S. said that at one point during the summer, B.S. mentioned that she did not feel comfortable with C.S. sleeping in the tent with A.L.

C.S. claimed that, in response, A.L. told B.S. that he enjoyed sleeping out in the tent with C.S. if that made C.S. feel like she had a father. [ 85 ] On cross-examination, C.S. testified that the tent could have been set up in the yard as early as May. She then went on to state that the tent was set up prior to the first incident of intercourse. She confirmed that a friend of hers also stayed in the tent with her on separate occasions. [ 86 ] B.S. testified that she only remembered one tent being used in the yard and that it was fairly large.

The tent was placed in two different spots over the course of the season, that being the side of the house and the back of the house. B.S. advised that contrary to C.S.’s claims, there was never an air mattress in their household. Additionally, B.S. denied that A.L. ever spent the night in the tent. B.S. said that A.L. had a bad back and could not sleep outside. [ 87 ] J.S. recalled A.L. setting up a small, two or three man tent in their backyard one summer but could not recall the year. J.S. could not recall a second tent ever being purchased.

He told the Court that C.S. stayed in the tent with a friend overnight but that no one else ever stayed in the tent with C.S. [ 88 ] A.L. testified that they only ever had one tent, not two. He stated that he had this tent for years, long before B.S. and her family moved into his home. A.L. denied having an air mattress. He denied ever staying in the tent with C.S. He denied having intercourse with C.S. in the tent. The ATV [ 89 ] C.S. testified that A.L. owned an all-terrain vehicle (ATV). She told the Court that there was a trail not too far from their home.

She described several occasions where A.L. put the ATV on a utility trailer, drove her to a remote location and took her for a drive on the ATV. C.S. claimed that A.L. twice drove them to a secluded clearing and they had intercourse on that trail. On one occasion, she said they also drove to another trail near […] and again had intercourse on the back of the ATV. [ 90 ] B.S. agreed that A.L. owned an ATV that could seat two. She testified that she was not aware of any occasions when A.L. took C.S. away from their yard on the ATV. J.S. also agreed that A.L. had an ATV and a utility trailer.

He testified that he never saw A.L. use the utility trailer to transport the ATV. [ 91 ] A.L. confirmed that he owned an ATV. He said it was used for plowing and yard work. He went on to agree that C.S. went for rides with him around their property but he denied ever taking her four wheeling. A.L. agreed that he had a utility trailer but said that it was used for business only and was never used to transport the ATV.

A.L. testified on direction examination that he had never taken the ATV off the property. [ 92 ] On cross-examination, A.L. admitted that he and his business partner had purchased ATV’s at the same time, since his partner was an avid four wheeler. A.L. agreed that he went four wheeling with his business partner and others […] and elsewhere. [ 93 ] A.L. denied owning a utility trailer at the time he went four wheeling with his business partner and claimed that he just loaded the ATV on someone’s truck.

Oddly, A.L. could not remember whose truck was used to transport the ATV or when he purchased his own utility trailer. [ 94 ] A.L.’s business partner lived in […]. A.L. stated on cross- examination that he could not recall ever taking C.S. on his ATV off his own property. Taking Kids on Work Calls Routine [ 95 ] C.S. stated that A.L. told her that it would be exciting for him to have sex with her where he worked. She said he took her on work calls to various […] in and around the Halifax Region. C.S. claimed that A.L. also took her on work calls outside of Metro.

C.S. alleged that A.L. had intercourse with her while working […]. [ 96 ] She testified that […] . According to C.S., those rooms often had locks. [ 97 ] C.S. described A.L. taking her on other work service calls. During some of those service calls, she said he took the opportunity to sexually assault her. C.S. described being touched on her breasts and vagina while A.L. was doing a service call in Musquodoboit. She also stated that A.L. had intercourse with her at a […] in Bridgewater.

[ 98 ] According to C.S., while she frequently went on service calls with A.L., her brother, J.S., only went to work with A.L. a couple of times. [ 99 ] C.S. described going on service calls with A.L. in the evenings, on weeknights/school nights, as well as any time, day or night, on the weekends. C.S. described arriving back home many nights later than 9:30 p.m. B.S. would know if C.S. was out on work calls because B.S. only worked one night per week. C.S. recalled A.L. waking her up at 10:00 p.m. to take her to a service call at a […] in Dartmouth. That resulted in her not arriving back home until 2:30 a.m.

C.S. stated that they did not have intercourse on that occasion, as A.L. became worried that there might be video surveillance in […]. [ 100 ] According to J.L.’s testimony, prior to the arrival of B.S. and her family, A.L. used to take him along on service calls. Once C.S. became part of the household, J.L. observed A.L. take her on service calls instead of him. J.L. was left behind to do yard work or watch television.

This hurt J.L.’s feelings significantly, since he only spent three days with his father every two weeks. [ 101 ] J.L. advised that when on service calls with A.L. […]. [ 102 ] According to B.S., who worked in some of the […] A.L. serviced, when a contractor like A.L. came into their […], the procedure was for the contractor to see the store manager and the […] manager would unlock […] for the contractor. [ 103 ] B.S. testified that she observed C.S. come into […] with A.L. on service calls. [ 104 ] According to B.S., C.S., J.S. and J.L. (when he was at their home) all wanted to go with A.L. on service calls.

Therefore, the general unwritten rule in the home was that if A.L. was going on a service call, the first child out the door went on the call. [ 105 ] B.S. also stated that the general rule was that if a service call was something quick A.L. would take one of the kids with him, but if he was going on a longer service call he would not bring any of the kids. [ 106 ] J.S. testified that he occasionally went on work calls with A.L. until 2005, when he obtained his own employment. He also stated that C.S. also went on work calls with A.L.

According to J.S., A.L. would not take either C.S. or himself on any out-of-town service calls and they were never away from home for more than a couple of hours while on service calls. [ 107 ] J.S. said that from his experience on service calls with A.L., the locks on the […] were always on the outside, not the inside. J.S. also said that he never went into […] on work calls with A.L. [ 108 ] A.L. testified that J.L., C.S. and J.S. were all occasionally taken on simple one-hour service calls. He said he did not take them on complicated calls.

A.L. agreed that he started taking C.S. and J.S. on service calls as soon the kids stated staying overnight at his home, but he denied taking them frequently. A.L. stated that he would never take the kids on service calls on school nights and generally only took them on weekends. In the summer time, he said he might take them any time. A.L. testified that he would not take the kids on service calls outside of the Metro area, since those calls could be very long, as out-of-town customers stockpiled work awaiting his arrival.

As a result, A.L. stated he would only have the kids away from home one to two hours at the most. [ 109 ] A.L. stated that the family determined who could go with him on service calls based on whoever got into his service vehicle first.

A.L. claimed that he took C.S and J.S. on an equal number of service calls because they did not get along. [ 110 ] A.L. testified that he never took the kids, including C.S., on service calls to […] and denied any sexual conduct with C.S. anywhere, including at work. [ 111 ] A.L. stated that if he was called out to a […] he would find the […] manager, who would take him to the computers to show him what was wrong. A.L. testified that he would also have to sign in at the […] courtesy desk. After all of that, the […] manager would let him into the […] (generally located at back of the store).

A.L. added that he did have the ability to call in to the […]ahead of time to find out what service problem he might be facing. […] Room [ 112 ] C.S. told the Court that when A.L. took her to work with him, he sometimes had intercourse with her in […]. She also stated that once or twice they had sex in a […], but more often they had sex in the […]. [ 113 ] C.S. testified that there was a metal box […] that she recalled sitting on while A.L. stood in front of her and had intercourse with her.

C.S. identified the large metal box from photographs presented to her at trial that depict a […]. [ 114 ] The investigating officer, Constable McGowan, also testified on this point, advising that she went to the […] in question to view and take photographs of a […]. She testified that in order to gain entry to the […] she had to climb a steep flight of stairs, unlock a door at the top of the stairs, then once in the […] she had to unlock another door to gain entry to the […] room.

Constable McGowan stated that the locks on the […] room door she examined are on the exterior, not the interior. [ 115 ] Constable McGowan testified that during the course of her investigation, when she showed C.S. a photograph of the transformer box in the […], C.S. cried. [ 116 ] During the course of questioning during the trial, A.L stated that he was familiar with the […] room where C.S. claimed they had intercourse. A.L. described accessing the […] room from the […] room. He emphasized that the door to the […] room and the door to the […] room are both locked from the outside.

A.L. did not dispute that certain of the […] rooms could be locked with a deadbolt from the inside. [ 117 ] A.L. advised that he did bring C.S. into […] rooms on occasion, but added that managers would be in and out of those rooms frequently while he was doing his work.

[ 118 ] Although he was familiar with these […] rooms, A.L. was adamant that he would have no reason to be in the […] room other than in the event of a major power failure. A.L. said he certainly would not take C.S. on a complicated service call like a major power failure that could require him to work in the […] room.

A.L. denied having any sort of sexual contact with C.S. in an […] room. [ 119 ] A.L. said that the large box C.S. said she was sitting on in the […] room when having intercourse with A.L. was a “step down transformer” and he initially implied that the temperature of this box would be far too hot and dangerous for anyone to sit on. During cross-examination, the following exchanges occurred: MR. LEVESQUE : And I’m suggesting to you that at - at least one occasion, when we look at photograph number 6, C.S. was actually sitting on this transformer when you had sex with her standing up in front of her. A.L.: No sir.

MR. LEVESQUE : Never happened also? A.L.: No, not on that anyways so. You know how hot that would be? MR. LEVESQUE: Pardon me. A.L.: Do you know how hot they run? MR. LEVESQUE: Tell me. A.L.: They probably run in the summer time 120 degrees. You don’t go around transformers like that. You don’t go sitting on those. MR. LEVESQUE: Why not? A.L.: Because. It’s a stepped down transformer. MR. LEVESQUE : Yeah, okay, so why wouldn’t you sit on it? A.L.: Because you wouldn’t. MR. LEVESQUE: Why not? A.L. Because it’s dangerous. MR.

LEVESQUE : Well, there’s nothing that would prevent you from sitting on that - ah - transformer, right? A.L. : I wouldn’t sit on it. MR. LEVESQUE : Well, you wouldn’t sit on it – A.L: No. MR. LEVESQUE : But I mean, there’s nothing preventing a person from sitting on that transformer, correct? A.L.: Oh no, someone could sit on it yeah – MR. LEVESQUE: Yeah. A.L. : - I’m not saying they couldn’t but I’ve - you don’t go sitting on transformers. MR. LEVESQUE : Well that’s your version of – you’re saying you wouldn’t go sit on a transformer but the fact remains that a person could sit on this transformer, yes?

A.L.: Yes. MR. LEVESQUE : And I am suggesting to you C.L. did sit on this transformer and you stood in front of her and had sexual relations with her. A.L. : No I didn’t, sorry. [ 120 ] A.L.’s credibility is impacted in two ways by this exchange. The more obvious issue is A.L.’s initial claim that the box would be too hot to sit on. This statement is clearly made to discredit C.S.’s claim of sitting on the box while having intercourse with A.L. The second issue is the curious statement made by A.L. when the Crown suggested to him that he had intercourse with C.S. while she was seated on the box.

After repeated denials through the course of his testimony regarding any sexual activity with C.S., A.L. in this instance stated “ No, not on that anyways so ”. Standing on its own, the common sense

interpretation of that comment is that A.L. does not agree that he had intercourse with C.S. on that box, but suggests that A.L. had intercourse with C.S. in another location. However, that comment was preceded by numerous denials by A.L. in this regard. No follow-up questions were asked by the Crown after A.L. made this statement so I cannot speculate as to where this may have led. [ 121 ] The Court eventually asked several questions of A.L. about the temperature of the box. Those questions were then followed up

by further questions from the Crown: THE COURT : In relation to - ah - the questions about - ah - the item noted in Exhibit 3 photograph number 6 that - ah - that being the – ah - transformer. A.L.: Yes. THE COURT : Ah - did - was it your testimony that that transformer would actually always be at 120 degrees? A.L.: Yeah it’s pretty hot all the time. Summertime would be worse, yeah. THE COURT : And have you actually touched one of those transformers to see what – A.L.: Oh yes, I’ve been in - in different rooms at different times yes, working. THE COURT : Okay and what if it’s not the summer?

What’s the temperature of those transformers? A.L.: Ah usually 90. THE COURT : And that’s the external temperature, if you touched the top of the transformers? A.L.: The cabinet temperature yes, yeah. THE COURT : The cabinet temperature. A.L.: Yeah. And that’s as long as the ventilation’s functioning properly in the room. … QUESTIONS ARISING FROM MR. LEVESQUE: MR. LEVESQUE : Just maybe clarification on that transformer that you talked about. You’re saying that the transformer itself would be 120 degrees? Is that - A.L.: Yes, in the summer time. They run very – MR. LEVESQUE : Summer time? A.L.: - very hot yeah.

They still – MR. LEVESQUE : Is that 120 degrees Fahrenheit? A.L.: Fahrenheit, yes. MR. LEVESQUE : Fahrenheit. A.L.: Yes. MR. LEVESQUE : And in the winter time it would be 90 degrees? A.L.: Yes, as long as the ventila - as long as the ventilation system’s functioning. MR. LEVESQUE : This - ah - photograph number 6 on Exhibit 3 - is that sort of a casing that goes over the transformer? A.L.: Over a big, big - yeah - a big, big - ah – it’s just a big - looks like a big coil inside with all the wires wrapped around it and it changes 600 down to 347 or 120 or 220. MR.

LEVESQUE : Okay so there’s sort of a big transformer inside this metal – A.L.: Box. MR. LEVESQUE : Box here. A.L.: That’s - yes - yes. MR. LEVESQUE : And mine - is it - is it correct or am I wrong that the 120 degrees and the 90 degrees would be for the actual transformer inside this box, not - not this actual box itself? A.L.: Yeah, the internal components of that would be running extremely hot.

MR. LEVESQUE: Right. A.L.: So the cabinet temperature itself would be really hot too, even though it’s got ventilation. The top of that gets really hot; the sides get really hot. Transformers run hot especially when they’re under heavy load. MR. LEVESQUE : Right, but the 120 and 90 degrees would be for the coils that are inside this casing here, is that correct? A.L.: No. That would be the cabinet temperature, like the external - the metal itself yes would be really - really hot, yeah. MR.

LEVESQUE : So if we went to this cabinet here, the transformer - ah - and we put our hand on it this transformer would be like a 120 degrees? A.L.: Yes. MR. LEVESQUE : Fahrenheit? A.L.: Yes. MR. LEVESQUE : And if we went there sort of in the winter time it would be 90 degrees – A.L.: 90 degrees yeah. MR. LEVESQUE : Fahrenheit. On this – A.L.: Yes. Sometimes - sometimes warmer too depending on how much of a load was on it and what - what was being used in the store. MR. LEVESQUE : Sometimes even higher than 120? A.L.: Oh in the summer if the ventilation – it’s got an exhaust fan on it and an intake. MR.

LEVESQUE: Right. A.L.: Ah - there should be a vent there somewhere. No, it doesn’t show you. Oh yes it does. See right there, on the wall. That’s an intake vent and that’s in the […] room so it sucks air from the […] room into the room and then there’s an exhaust fan above that, right, that blows the air out. It doesn’t move a - lot of - a lot of air but it just - it just ventilates that room and if that fan seizes up or if there’s any issue with the ventilation of course the transformers are going to get hotter and hotter because they need to be cooled because they’re regulating power. MR.

LEVESQUE : So, we’re not in the summer months right now so is it your testimony then that this - this metal case that’s over the coils would be about 90 degrees – A.L.: Yes. MR. LEVESQUE : Right now? A.L.: Yes. MR. LEVESQUE : And in the summer months would be about 120 degrees? A.L.: Yes. MR. LEVESQUE : So if it’s 120 degrees or 90 degrees, you’d have a hard time keeping your hand on that metal box I presume? A.L.: No, at 90 degrees, we’re 89.9 our bodies. 90 degrees is warm to the touch. 120 degrees would be like ah - hot water not boiling water but hot water. MR.

LEVESQUE : Okay, so – A.L.: Right so you’re talking like - a normal hot water tank runs at 140 degrees Fahrenheit for your hot water and if you put your hand under 140 or hotter you’ll scald but I mean 120 you can put your hand in water that’s 120 degrees and it’s hot – it’s just like if you were washing your hands with hot - hot water. MR. LEVESQUE: Okay. A.L.: It’s not super – MR. LEVESQUE: So. A.L.: - it’s not gonna cook you but I mean it’s - they run pretty hot. MR.

LEVESQUE : Okay so if it’s sort of 90 degrees, it’s close to our body temperature so you wouldn’t have a problem putting your hand on this - ah – transformer here?

A.L.: No you just notice a slight temperature increase, yes. MR. LEVESQUE : Okay and if it’s 120 you’re saying that it - ah - could be like washing your hands with hot water? A.L.: Hot water yeah. That’s normally the operating temperature of them, yeah. MR. LEVESQUE : So it wouldn’t scald you or burn you or anything like that? A.L.: No, no. [ 122 ] A.L. was initially trying to imply that the box would be far too hot to sit on which he later agreed was not accurate. Why would he suggest this?

The Van [ 123 ] C.S. claimed that A.L. also had intercourse with her in the back of his work van, on a blanket that he kept in the vehicle. She said that on one occasion this took place near a secondary road behind the airport. [ 124 ] C.S. also claimed that while they were traveling to a service call in Bridgewater, A.L. pulled off the highway onto an ATV type trail.

C.S. testified that A.L. had intercourse with her while she was sitting in the work van and he was standing next to the door. [ 125 ] C.S. said that while driving to Bridgewater on another occasion, they had intercourse on a blanket that A.L. had placed on the ground next to the van. C.S. testified that A.L. told her that if anyone happened to discover them she should keep her head down, not make eye contact and should try to look older and bigger. [ 126 ] A.L. agreed that he owned a […] service van.

He also testified that he went back and forth to Bridgewater quite often on service calls while C.S. was living in the home. A.L. stated that he drove to Bridgewater every two weeks on service calls. However, A.L. denied that he ever took any of the kids out of town on service calls for a time. He denied having sex of any sort with C.S. in the service van, on a blanket near the service van or anywhere else. [ 127 ] J.S. also testified that A.L. never took either C.S. or himself out of town on service calls. B.S. confirmed this.

Lily's Lingerie [ 128 ] C.S. testified that when she was in grade eight or grade nine, A.L. took her to a high end lingerie shop called Lily's Lingerie in Halifax. C.S. claimed that A.L. told her that it would be nice if they bought something that they could both enjoy. According to C.S., A.L. purchased her a black bra, panties and a nightgown. C.S. stated that A.L. gave her his bank card and PIN to make similar purchases at other times. She said the PIN code A.L. gave her was "1960". [ 129 ] B.S. testified that she was aware that A.L. took C.S. to Lily's to purchase custom type underwear.

B.S. claimed that C.S. needed good support bras. B.S. did not know what colour bra was purchased and did not know whether panties and/or a nightgown had also been purchased. B.S. stated that C.S. typically wore pajama pants and a t-shirt to sleep, not a nightgown. [ 130 ] B.S. testified that she was not aware of C.S. ever being given A.L.'s bank card, credit card or PIN. She did confirm that 1960 was the PIN code A.L. used for those cards. [ 131 ] A.L. told the Court that he took C.S. to Lily's to buy support bras. B.S. agreed.

A.L. said he did not find it unusual that he took C.S.to a lingerie shop as opposed to her mother taking her. He said that C.S. had poor posture and she was taken to Lily's to try and assist her with this problem. A.L. denied buying C.S. anything at Lily's except support bras. He denied giving C.S. his bank card, credit card or his PIN. A.L. agreed that “1960” was the PIN code he used for his cards. The Black Eye/Facebook [ 132 ] C.S. told the Court that one evening when she was in grade nine, B.S. was at work but J.S. was home, so she and A.L. could not have intercourse.

C.S. therefore made plans to stay at a friend's house overnight. After those plans were made J.S. left the house to go skateboarding. C.S stated that A.L. asked her to change her plans so that they could stay home and have intercourse. According to C.S., when she refused, A.L. hit her in the face. A.L. then became angrier and blamed C.S. for making him hit her. [ 133 ] C.S. had an immediate swelling on her face so C.S. felt she had to cancel her evening out with friends. A.L. told her to come up with an excuse for her injury.

C.S. said she told everyone that when she bent over to pat her dog, "[…]", the dog jumped up and head butted her. C.S. took pictures of herself to show the injuries and posted them on Facebook with a caption blaming her dog for hitting her in the face. [ 134 ] B.S. told the Court that they had a young […] dog named […]. B.S. went on to say that C.S. had a habit of taking pictures of herself with […], face to face with the dog. She recounted an incident when she arrived home to find C.S. with a large bump on her left eye.

B.S. said C.S. was laughing when telling the story saying that […] had jumped up and head butted her when she was trying to take a picture of him. C.S. then posted pictures of her injury on Facebook, blaming the dog. B.S. was not aware of any cancelled plans on the part of C.S. that evening as a result of her injury. [ 135 ] A.L. stated that he never hit C.S. He said that he recalled seeing postings on Facebook of a bruise or lump on C.S.'s face and C.S. stating that […] caused the injury. The Gun [ 136 ] C.S. testified that A.L. threatened to shoot her on several occasions.

On those earlier occasions, C.S. said that A.L. did not show

her a weapon. She told the Court that subsequently A.L. became very upset with her because she told him that she was disgusted with herself for having sex with him. This comment was allegedly made when they were in the living room of the home. A heated argument about her feelings ensued. C.S. claimed that in the heat of the argument A.L. told her that he was going to hurt her like she hurt him. She said A.L. then pulled a gun out of the closet nearest to the living room. When C.S. saw A.L. with the gun, she said she ran out of the house and down the driveway.

When questioned by her neighbours as to her behaviour, C.S. said she told them she was upset because she could not find her dog. When C.S. returned to the home, she said the gun was outside the closet, leaning against a wall and A.L. was laughing at her. [ 137 ] B.S. confirmed that a rifle was kept in a closet in the home when C.S. was living there. Eventually the gun was moved to the basement. [ 138 ] A.L. testified that he did have an antique gun in a closet. He denied ever pulling the gun out of the closet in anger or threatening C.S. with it.

A.L. claimed that when he and B.S. moved in 2009, although the gun had sentimental value, it had been poorly looked after and was thrown away. Frequency of Sex [ 139 ] C.S. testified at some length about the frequency with which she claimed A.L. would molest her and have intercourse with her. According to C.S., after the first incident of intercourse, A.L. would have intercourse with her almost every weekend as long as her mother was working. She says that A.L. would also have intercourse with her on random weeknights when he was able to sneak into her room.

She said they also had intercourse a couple of times in the downstairs’ bathroom at night. [ 140 ] C.S. added that every Saturday morning she would go to A.L.'s bedroom between 7:30-8:00 a.m., as soon as her mother left for work, and have sex with A.L., as long as no one was home. She said A.L. had instructed her to go into his room as soon as her mother left for work. On a couple of occasions, C.S. said she slept in and missed the proscribed time for sex.

She described A.L. as coming into her room on those occasions very irate, and claimed he would kick her in the side and in the stomach to wake her up, as she was sleeping on the floor. [ 141 ] On those weekend mornings when she did go to A.L.'s room, C.S. said A.L. would be naked, waiting in bed for her. She would simply get into bed, take her clothes off and they would have intercourse. [ 142 ] C.S. said they would also have sex on weekdays, depending on her mother’s work

schedule at various […] locations. When B.S. worked either Wednesday or Thursday evenings, she would leave the home around noon and not return until between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. C.S. would arrive home from school by 3:30 p.m. most weekdays and therefore, according to C.S., as long as J.S. was not home, she and A.L. were free to have sex as often as they wished once A.L. arrived home from work. [ 143 ] According to C.S., on the nights B.S. working, C.S. was positioned on the outside of A.L.'s bed so that she could leave quickly if B.S. arrived home unexpectedly.

C.S. said intercourse took place just about every night B.S. was working and A.L. was not on a service call. She added that every now and then if another opportunity arose, A.L. would seize the moment to have sex. This led to intercourse on occasion on the couch downstairs if B.S. was upstairs sleeping, as well as in the downstairs’ bathroom. [ 144 ] A.L. denied all of these allegations.

Insults, threats and promises [ 145 ] As previously noted, C.S. testified that following the first incident of intercourse, the promise by A.L. to take care of her family if she continued to have sex with him was very significant to her. [ 146 ] C.S. testified that the sexual activity between herself and A.L. started in her grade seven year and continued to partway through her grade eleven year.

During the course of her living with A.L. she says that A.L. told her on more than one occasion that he would like to kill people who bother him. [ 147 ] C.S. also said that A.L. told her that he planned to buy her a condominium when she was old enough to have sex with him legally so that he could see her whenever he wanted. [ 148 ] However, according to C.S., the older she became the more resistant she became to having sex with A.L.

She said that when she failed to go to A.L.'s room for a weekend session of intercourse, he would become angry, insult her and make comments such as: "Why would I have you and your family here, you're such stupid fucks", "Why would I have you here if we're not doing this, just to remind me of what I can’t have", "You need to get out if you're not going to do this", "I don't care where you go, you can live in a shelter or on a street corner, if you're not going to have sex with me", "No one would believe you", "Your mother doesn't even care", "You can explain to your mother and brother why you have no home and can't afford to eat". [ 149 ] According to C.S. these alleged comments made her feel pressure to have sex with A.L. or face the possibility of her family being thrown out of his home.

C.S. said that she told A.L. that this made her feel disgusting. [ 150 ] C.S. also stated that on one occasion in grade seven or eight, A.L. was angry at her and started throwing shoes at her, kicking her in her sides, throwing staplers at her, kicking her in the back and choking her. C.S. said that this incident ended because J.S. intervened and said "no hitting". She said that A.L. then took her out shopping at Walmart and bought her an iPod to apologize to her. [ 151 ] B.S. told the Court that she never saw A.L. being inappropriate with C.S. in any way.

B.S. stated that she never saw A.L. hitting or assaulting C.S. She added that C.S. never complained to her about A.L. while she was living at home. [ 152 ] J.S. testified that he never saw A.L. hit or push C.S. nor did he ever have to say "no hitting" to A.L., or intervene during a physical assault by A.L. on C.S.

[ 153 ] A.L. denied ever hitting or kicking C.S. Vasectomy and Description of A.L.'s Penis [ 154 ] According to C.S., A.L. told her that he had a vasectomy and as a result ejaculated inside her vagina on every occasion of intercourse following the first time where she said A.L. withdrew his penis and ejaculated into his own hand. [ 155 ] C.S. described A.L.'s genitals as follows: a six and a half inch long and uncircumcised penis; dark pubic hair with white strands; and two testicles, one with a small black mole. [ 156 ] B.S. confirmed that A.L. had a vasectomy.

She also confirmed that A.L.'s penis was not circumcised. The Dildo [ 157 ] C.S. described a hatch over A.L.'s bed at their home. Through the hatch, in the attic, she said there was a bag of various sex tools, including dildos and vibrators. C.S. said that they were left behind by a former girlfriend of A.L. [ 158 ] C.S. described one occasion during sex with A.L. in the master bedroom, when A.L. inserted a large pink dildo into her vagina. C.S. said she was injured by the dildo, as it was too big for her.

She said A.L. became nervous once he determined that C.S. was hurt, because he was concerned he might have to take her to a doctor. A.L. advised C.S. that he was going to throw all of the sex tools into a dumpster in […]. [ 159 ] On cross-examination C.S. agreed that she had not mentioned the alleged vaginal injury to the police when she gave her initial statement. [ 160 ] B.S. agreed that there was a hatch to the attic over their bed. She said that in the summer she would pop the hatch and push it to the side for ventilation.

However, her head was always below the hatch due to height, and as a result she never saw inside the hatch past the rafters. [ 161 ] A.L. denied knowledge of any sex tools in the home, and denied there ever had been sex tools left in his home by a former girlfriend. Skull light, Vibrator and Rocky Lake Drive [ 162 ] C.S. testified that when she was in grade seven, A.L. took her on a service call to a […] in downtown Halifax. C.S. waited in the work van for A.L. to finish the service call.

According to C.S., when A.L. returned to the van he had purchased a seven inch long battery powered vibrator from an adult store called Night Magic Fashion. A.L. told her the new vibrator was not too large and would not hurt her. [ 163 ] The following weekend, C.S. said A.L. used the vibrator on her for the first time. The second occasion of vibrator use occurred when A.L. announced he had a service call and told C.S. to go with him. Once in the van, A.L. advised C.S. that there was no actual service call and instead he wanted to have some time with her.

She said that he drove her to a private area near Rocky Lake Road, produced the new vibrator, had her take off her pants and place her feet on the dashboard, activated the batteries, inserted the vibrator into her vagina and pressed it against her clitoris. When another vehicle arrived in the area, C.S. said A.L. drove away. [ 164 ] C.S. said this vibrator was initially kept in the attic for safekeeping. Eventually, she and A.L. went to a flea market and purchased an illuminating skull and a foot long chest.

A.L. attached the illuminating skull to the small chest, attached a small padlock to the chest and kept the vibrator locked in the chest so that B.S. and J.S. could not look inside. C.S. said he hung the key in her closet. [ 165 ] C.S. said that on one occasion after using the vibrator, they mistakenly put it on a bookshelf and not in the skull box. Subsequently, when C.S. returned home from visiting J.P. she was confronted by A.L., who whispered to her: "You don't know where it is or where it came from".

Shortly thereafter, B.S. approached C.S., showed her the vibrator and said "I know what that is and I found it on the bookshelf". C.S. said she told her mother that A.L. had purchased the vibrator for her so that she would not become interested in boys. When C.S. later told A.L. what she had said to B.S., she said he became angry and called her "a piece of shit" for not covering for him better. [ 166 ] B.S. said that in 2008 she was cleaning out a tiny drawer in the bottom of a bookshelf in what was the office and found a small vibrator.

When confronted, B.S. said C.S. told her that that the vibrator was shared between herself and her friend J.P. B.S. denied that C.S. ever said that A.L. bought it for her so that she would not be interested in boys. [ 167 ] B.S. also said that C.S. had a skull nightlight mounted on top of a small chest with a tiny master lock on it. According to B.S., C.S. obtained the box and nightlight the first year they moved in with A.L. B.S. said the key was kept in the top drawer of C.S.'s dresser.

She said that, as a mother, she felt it was proper for her to look inside the locked chest, and when she did, there was nothing inside except papers and notes. [ 168 ] A.L. admitted to taking C.S. on a service call to the […]. He denied going shopping at Night Magic Fashion. He also agreed that he took C.S. to the Rocky Lake Quarry with him, but he said the purpose was for rock hounding, not sex, and that no sexual activity occurred. [ 169 ] According to A.L., the illuminated skull was purchased at a flea market.

He said the chest had been in the house for a long time prior to the arrival of B.S. and was not purchased at the flea market. He said that he had previously stored keys in the chest. A.L. confirmed that the chest had a lock on it, but said it was C.S. who put the lock on it. He said C.S. kept the key on a nail inside her closet upstairs and showed A.L. where the key was kept. When questioned on cross-examination why a young girl would show her stepfather where the key to a box holding her personal items was kept, A.L. had no answer.

Oral Sex [ 170 ] According to C.S., the first instance of oral sex occurred shortly after the first incident of intercourse. She described A.L. lying on her mattress at bed time, exposing his penis and instructing her how to perform oral sex. Once finished, A.L. told C.S. that she had done a great job and told her that her abilities would improve over time. [ 171 ] Again, according to C.S., the first time A.L. performed oral sex on her occurred in his bedroom when B.S. was at work. Once A.L. finished having oral sex with C.S., they had intercourse. [ 172 ] A.L. denied any sexual activity with C.S.

Office Lock Code [ 173 ] C.S. said that A.L. constructed two small buildings behind their home while she was living there. The buildings housed an office for A.L.'s business and a home theater. Once the office was built, A.L. transitioned his home office to the outbuilding. C.S. then moved her bedroom from upstairs in the home to downstairs, where the office had been located. [ 174 ] According to C.S., A.L. asked her to help with the construction so that they could have intercourse while working together. As a result, they had intercourse in both new buildings during their construction.

Once the buildings were completed, C.S. said A.L. bought two futons for his office so that they would have a comfortable place to have intercourse. [ 175 ] C.S. testified that A.L.'s office had both a key (which only A.L. had possession of) and a combination code entry lock. The combination code "1960" was known to all of A.L.'s employees and was the main code. According to C.S., A.L. could change the entry code very easily and quickly. He would change it to "1949" if they were in the office having sex, to ensure privacy, and then change the code back to "1960" once they were done.

C.S. described having sex with A.L. in the office and the home theater on many occasions. [ 176 ] B.S. confirmed that A.L. did have futons in the outbuildings. She said the entry code to the office was 1960. B.S. said there was never an occasion when she tried to punch in the code and it failed to work. [ 177 ] J.S. described the office as having an outside padlock with a numeric punch code combination. He said that all family members, C.S.'s friends and business associates of A.L. knew the lock code and were frequently in and out of the office.

J.S. knew the entry code to be 1960 and did not know whether the code could be easily changed. [ 178 ] A.L. confirmed constructing outbuildings for an office and a home theater while C.S. was living at his home. A.L. said in 2007 he had five employees who all knew the entry code, in addition to his business partner, family members and friends. He described the office as containing two couches (futons), a fireplace, bookshelves, file cabinets and a computer. [ 179 ] A.L. stated that the entry code was always 1960. He denied ever changing it. He denied having intercourse with C.S. in the outbuildings.

New Store Construction [ 180 ] C.S. testified that A.L.'s company was involved in construction of a new […] in Cole Harbour. She said A.L. took her to the […] while it was under construction and had intercourse with her there on three separate occasions.

C.S. said that one noteworthy item when the […] was being built was a one-way mirror that was installed incorrectly (backwards). [ 181 ] Constable McGowan confirmed that the […] in question is located in Cole Harbour. [ 182 ] A.L. initially said that he never took the kids to the new […] while it was under construction but then stated that he had taken C.S. to the new […] once to help with construction clean up, as she wanted to earn money to buy an iPod. He said the entire time C.S. was at the new […] on that occasion, his business partner was also there.

A.L. added that other trades’ people were in and out of the […] also on the one and only occasion C.S. was there. He denied any knowledge of an improperly installed one-way mirror. A.L. denied having intercourse with C.S. at the new […]. Aerosmith [ 183 ] An Aerosmith concert took place in Prince Edward Island in 2007, when C.S. was in high school. According to C.S., A.L. purchased tickets and told her that he was excited about the concert because he and C.S. would be able to have their own hotel room and have intercourse as much as possible without interruption.

She said she then invited her friend, B., to attend the concert with them. According to C.S., when he heard that B. had been invited, A.L. became angry and threatened to cancel the trip because he did not want to share a room. A.L. relented under the agreement that he and C.S. would share one bed and B would have the other bed. [ 184 ] C.S. said that after the concert, she slept in the hotel bed with A.L. During the course of the night A.L. pulled her pants down and had intercourse with her while B. was sleeping in the adjacent bed.

The next morning, and through the remainder of the weekend, A.L. was angry with her for not taking advantage of having a hotel room and having more sex with him. [ 185 ] B.S. testified that she was aware C.S. had travelled to P.E.I. with A.L. and her friend B. to see Aerosmith. She said that C.S. would have been 16 years old at the time. B.S. claimed that she did not find it odd to hear that C.S. slept with A.L. instead of her friend, B., because both C.S. and B. were large girls and likely would not have comfortably fit in one bed. [ 186 ] A.L. agreed that he took C.S. and B. to the Aerosmith concert in P.E.I.

He testified that they all stayed in one room at the Best Western. A.L. said that he slept alone in one bed and that C.S. and B. slept together in the other bed. He denied having sex with C.S. while in P.E.I. Video Camera

[ 187 ] C.S. said that on one occasion, while she was having intercourse with A.L. in his bedroom, B.S. came home unexpectedly. Subsequent to that incident, she said A.L. purchased an inexpensive portable video camera that could connect to a television screen. According to C.S., A.L. told B.S. that the camera was purchased to allow him to secretly monitor employees. C.S. said the camera was actually used to monitor the driveway while they were having intercourse to ensure privacy.

C.S. said that A.L. also told her that he used the camera to watch her and her friends when they were in the home theater socializing. [ 188 ] B.S. told the Court that A.L. had stated he was concerned about employee theft, so bought a surveillance camera on line for $29.99. The camera arrived six to eight weeks after having been ordered and, according to B.S., A.L. and B.S. tested it the day it arrived. B.S. said it was a small camera that did not produce a good quality picture. She added that after the initial screen test, they determined that the camera was of such poor quality that it was useless.

It was taken apart and put away, possibly in A.L.'s office. [ 189 ] According to A.L. he became interested in purchasing a surveillance camera after being advised by a neighbour about thefts going on in the neighbourhood. He said he ordered the camera on line for $29.99. He said that there was a wireless package that was supposed to allow the camera to connect to a computer; however, once tested he determined that the picture was of such terrible quality the camera was essentially useless. A.L. denied using the camera to keep watch while having intercourse with C.S. C.S.

Wanting Sex When Younger [ 190 ] C.S. testified that when she was 11 or 12 years old she wanted to have sex with A.L. and enjoyed the entire situation. She expressed that she now feels deep regret and experiences self-loathing as a result of acknowledging those feelings. [ 191 ] As she aged, C.S. described she had many forms of resistance to having sexual relations with A.L. For example, according to C.S., A.L. told her frequently that he did not like fat women. She said he would then often tell her how fat she was getting.

C.S. said that as she got older she overate as a result of A.L.'s comments, with the hope that he would lose sexual interest in her. She said that she also refused to shower and wore clothes to bed for similar reasons. Eventually, C.S. said that she told A.L. directly that she felt terrible about herself as a result of the sexual activity with him. [ 192 ] B.S. testified that C.S. was a large or heavy person from the age of five onwards.

The Attempted Suicide [ 193 ] C.S. said that in April 2006, at the age of 14, she became so overwhelmed by the abusive situation with A.L. that she took numerous pills in an effort to kill herself. After taking the pills, she became hysterical and left the home for the woods to die. On her way out of the home, she met A.L. who asked her what was going on and she confessed to having taken pills.

A.L. drove her to […], and she said A.L. berated her during the drive. [ 194 ] At the […], C.S. said she told them that she had taken a number of pills but said no more, as A.L. remained in the room with her the entire time she was being questioned. C.S. said B.S. arrived fifteen to twenty minutes later. She went on to state that a doctor arrived and wanted to question C.S. privately about her behaviour, but A.L. refused to leave the room. As a result of A.L.'s presence, C.S. said she told the doctor that she did poorly on a math test and was overwhelmed.

C.S. advised the Court that she generally did well in school and was not actually having any issues academically. She said the story about problems with a math test was merely something she made up on the spot. [ 195 ] According to C.S., she was examined by a doctor, given charcoal to drink and was eventually discharged. She said the doctor recommended counselling.

C.S. claimed that A.L. drove her home when she was discharged, and that during the drive home, he told her she could not go to counselling because the counsellor would be too smart and would figure the situation out. [ 196 ] C.S. said that B.S. never spoke to her about this incident. She said the IWK Mental Health Unit called their home to follow-up; however, A.L. would not allow her to attend counselling. [ 197 ] B.S. said C.S. called her at work and told her she had taken a bunch of pills. B.S. says that C.S. said she had tried calling A.L. first but could not reach him.

A.L. then called B.S. and said he had C.S. and they were on their way to the […]. B.S. said she then notified her work supervisor she was leaving and went to the […]. B.S. claimed when she arrived, A.L. was waiting at nurses’ station, not in t

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