Mistrial declared in 1 of 2 sexual trials for ex-Woodstock, Ont., mayor
CBC
Warning: This story details sexual assault allegations and contains graphic content.
A judge in London, Ont., has declared a mistrial in one of two court cases involving former Woodstock mayor Trevor Birtch.
Superior Court Justice Michael Carnegie ruled the Crown failed to provide relevant disclosure, violating his right to a fair trial.
Birtch was found guilty in August of assault and sexual assault in relation to allegations from 2021 involving a woman he had been in a relationship with. A sentencing date was expected to be given on Nov. 18.
The defence filed a Charter challenge on Nov. 12, arguing a mistrial should be declared because the Crown failed to disclose all relevant evidence before the trial began in May.
The only appropriate remedy was to declare a mistrial, Carnegie said during a virtual hearing on Monday.
The matter will return to court on Jan. 28 to hear submissions about the scope of the declaration and whether it should include a second sexual assault charge against Birtch that was dismissed.
At the centre of the challenge was a statement to police, dated June 2023, by a former friend of Birtch. The friend indicated she had spoken with the complainant days before Birtch was formally charged in February 2022.
The friend was later called as a witness in Birtch's second trial for three charges of sexual assault involving a different complainant. The judge-alone trial wrapped in September and a verdict is scheduled for Jan. 15.
The defence argued proper Crown disclosure would have enabled the friend to testify in the first trial.
Carnegie said Birtch's lawyers believed the friend "had important evidence respecting possible witness-slash-complainant collusion, and/or, could establish an improper motive to fabricate on the part of [the] complainant."
Although the friend's statement was disclosed by the Crown to Birtch's lawyers in March 2024, before both trials, Carnegie said it was shared only as part of the prosecution file for the second trial, which began in September.
The justice said both trials were carried out by two different Crown counsels and disclosure in each was separated by different electronic evidence files, both accessible to Birtch's lawyers.
Birtch's longtime friend was known to the complainants in both cases and discussed their relative allegations with each, Carnegie said.
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