Yukon court hears appeal of retired Whitehorse teacher convicted of sexually assaulting ex-student in the '80s

The Yukon Court of Appeal heard the case of a retired Whitehorse teacher convicted of sexually assaulting a former student in the '80s on Friday, with his lawyer asking for the conviction to be overturned.

Paul Deuling was found guilty of one count of sexual assault against Desire Mitchell following a judge-alone trial last year. 

However, Dueling's lawyer Richard Fowler argued there were "widespread" issues with Mitchell's testimony, and also took issue with what he said was the "compartmentalization" of her evidence.

Deuling was charged with five offences in 2019, after Mitchell accused him of sexually touching and assaulting her over the course of several years in the '80s. The two met when Mitchell was in Grade 5 and Deuling was a teacher. 

Deputy territorial court judge Brian Neal acquitted Deuling on four charges, but found him guilty of sexually assaulting Mitchell when she was 17 after taking her camping in a remote area. He sentenced Deuling to three years in prison. 

Deuling filed an appeal and was released on bail. 

Mitchell's name was previously subject to a publication ban, which she had lifted in August. Neither she nor Dueling were present in court Friday.

Fowler cited a list of issues Neal had noted about Mitchell's testimony, including "detailed allegations" that she had been abused by her stepmother.

In their own testimony, the stepmother "thoroughly refuted" the allegations, and Mitchell's siblings said they didn't recall any abuse. Neal found the stepmother credible and said he wasn't convinced she'd ever abused Mitchell.

Fowler argued Mitchell was either "lying under oath" or repeating "dreams," either of which was "devastating" to her credibility. 

Mitchell's home-life, he said, was significant because throughout her testimony, she talked about how growing up in an abusive environment shaped her behaviour, including coming to see Deuling as an "escape."

Turning to the sexual assault conviction, Fowler questioned why Neal "suddenly" believed Mitchell when he identified credibility and reliability issues with her other testimony, including about another alleged sexual assault she said occurred weeks before. 

Fowler argued portions of Mitchell's testimony made no sense, including when she said she and Deuling got to the remote area in the morning and set up a tent in the evening, but provided "no evidence" about what happened in the 10 hours in-between. She'd also testified that it was between -10 C and -20 C and that she wasn't wearing warm clothing; Fowler said it was "highly unbelievable" that she was outside for 10 hours in those conditions. Fowler also said she gave "almost bizarre" testimony about Deuling shooting and skinning a bear after the sexual assault, which she didn't mention in her police statement. 

While Neal said Mitchell was "largely unshaken" in cross-examination, Fowler argued that wasn't accurate — she couldn't provide a clear reason for the purpose of the trip, and misidentified the highway they'd driven on.