Judge calls court delays 'major screw-up' in sex assault case
Videotaped statement of complainant missing from court file for months
A Charlottetown judge called the handling of a key piece of evidence in a sexual assault case before her court "a major screw-up" and a "travesty."
Chief Provincial Court Judge Nancy Orr is presiding over a preliminary inquiry for Arthur Francis McGuigan, 63, a former youth worker at Bluefield High School.
He's charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a young person back in 2009.
McGuigan is also charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.
The complainant was a youth at the time, but is now an adult. Her name is protected by a court publication ban.
She gave a videotaped statement to police in Ontario two years ago.
McGuigan was living in Alberta when the charges were laid in June 2018.
Video statement missing from file
But on Thursday, court heard the DVD and written transcript of the woman's statement were both missing from the case file when it came to court in P.E.I. back in June.
The error was spotted just days ago.
Crown attorney Gerald Quinn told the court the police forgot to include it in the file.
The Crown has to disclose all the evidence it has against an accused to the defence, so they have an opportunity to respond to any allegations.
'Incomprehensible'
Judge Orr lambasted the defence for requesting multiple adjournments since June to review disclosure and never noticing the missing piece of key evidence.
She called it "incomprehensible" that neither the defence lawyer nor the prosecutor noticed the statement was missing until recently.
Now that he has a copy of the statement, McGuigan's lawyer Jordan Stuffco said he needs time to review it before the case can go any further.
Preliminary inquiries are held to determine whether the Crown has presented enough evidence against an accused to go to trial.
The judge granted an adjournment until January and apologized to the complainant, who was sitting in the courtroom.
Orr told the lawyers to make sure this never happens again.
This is the second time McGuigan has faced sex-related charges.
In 2014 McGuigan pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation and drug trafficking involving a female student stemming from incidents in August 2013. He was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison.
MORE P.E.I. NEWS:
With files from Brian Higgins