Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Gurdev Singh Dhillon

 

Charge:

Sexual Assault (includes aggravated)

Sentence:

4 years

Years Imprisoned:

3

Year Crime:

2004

Year Convicted:

2005

Year Cleared:

2014

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Canada

County or Region of Crime:

British Columbia

City of Crime:

Surrey

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Gurdev Singh Dhillon was wrongly convicted on October 21, 2005 of being one of two East Indian males who sexually assaulting a woman in Surrey, British Columbia on July 7, 2004, Canada based on the in court identification of the victim. Dhillon was sentenced to serve four years in prison. Dhillon's appeal of his conviction was denied by the British Columbia Court of Appeals on October 23, 2006, and his sentence was affirmed in a separate ruling on November 29, 2006. After he finished serving his full sentence in October 2008, he was deported to his native India. After his deportation two exculpatory DNA forensic reports that had been prepared prior to Dhillon's trial were discovered that had not been disclosed to him by the prosecution. The previously undisclosed DNA evidence identified two male DNA profiles on exhibits seized from the complainant and the basement suite where she said the assault took place, and neither profile matched Dhillon. The reports were provided to Dhillon in March 2013. Dhillon filed a post-conviction petition for a new trial based on the new evidence. On December 5, 2014 the British Columbia Court of appeal set-aside Dhillon's conviction as a miscarriage of justice, and didn't order a retrial based on exculpatory DNA evidence that had not been disclosed by the prosecution. In February 2015 Dhillon filed a civil suit seeking damages for his wrongful imprisonment that named as defendants: the British Columbia and federal governments; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP); Crown prosecutor Don Wilson; and Dhillon's former defence lawyer Sukhjinder Grewal."

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim.

Innocence Proved By:

"On December 5, 2014 the British Columbia Court of appeal set-aside Dhillon's conviction as a miscarriage of justice, and didn't order a retrial based on exculpatory DNA evidence that had not been disclosed by the prosecution."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"R. v. Dhillon, 2014 BCCA 480 (12-5-2014, Setting-aside conviction) "

Information Location 1:

http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/CA/14/04/2014BCCA0480.htm

Information Source 2:

"Surrey sex assault conviction set aside by court of appeal, By Tom Zytaruk (Staff writer), Surrey Now (Surrey, British Columbia), December 8, 2014"

Information Location 2:

http://www.thenownewspaper.com/news/surrey-sex-assault-conviction-set-aside-by-court-of-appeal-1.1655268

Information Source 3:

"R. v. Dhillon, 2006 BCCA 480 (10-23- 2006, Affirming conviction)"

Information Location 3:

http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/ca/06/04/2006bcca0480.htm

Information Source 4:

"Indian-Origin Man Sues Canadian Government Over Wrongful Conviction, By Diaspora & Indo-Asian News Service, NDTV.com, February 28, 2015"

Information Location 4:

http://www.ndtv.com/diaspora/indian-origin-man-sues-canadian-government-over-wrongful-conviction-743226

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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