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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Child/Minor Sexual Assault |
Sentence: |
"4 months, 18 months probation, and 20 years registration as a sex offender" |
Years Imprisoned: |
0.17 |
Year Crime: |
2010 |
Year Convicted: |
2011 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Canada |
County or Region of Crime: |
New Brunswick |
City of Crime: |
Fredericton |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"D. A. M. was wrongly convicted on January 20, 2011 of sexually assaulting his 12-year-old step-grandaughter in New Brunswick, Canada. The prosecution's case was based on the testimony of D. A. M.'s grandaughter that on several occasions he touched her vagina inside her pants. D. A. M.'s defense was the events didn't occur. The girl's mother testified that she believed her daughter had been forced to fabricate the accusations by her spouse's family as part of a vindictive family feud between relatives. Faced with a "She Said, He Said" case in which there was no physical, forensic or eyewitness evidence to corroborate the girl's claims, the trial judge, after a two-day bench trial, found D. A. M. guilty. On November 3, 2011 he was sentenced to four months in prison to be followed by 18 months probation, and he was required to register as a sex offender for 20 years. In 2016 the girl recanted her testimony as false. D. A. M. was granted permission to file his appeal out of time on the grounds that it would be a miscarriage of justice to maintain his conviction in the new circumstance of the girl's recantation. D. A. M. filed his appeal on January 19, 2017, along with a motion seeking leave to adduce new evidence in four affidavits and to have his case heard expeditiously. His case was scheduled to be heard the next day, January 20, in the New Brunswick Court of Appeal. In one of the Affidavits, the complainant, stated that her paternal grandmother pressured her into lying to social workers, police officers, and then in court, that her grandfather had touched her, when it had never occurred. She said, " At that time, all I wanted was to please my grandmother and I was very confused." Two of the other affidavits confirmed the circumstance that the girl had made her allegations in the midst of a bitter family separation. The fourth affidavit was from D. A. M. in which he stated: "Not only was I convicted of and incarcerated for something I did not do but I have had to live with being despised by members of my family and the community who believe me to be a sex offender as a result of my conviction. My son’s former spouse has kept and continues to keep their three children away from me because his ex-wife now believes that I am a sex offender." The Court ruled that very day, January 20, 2017, "The new evidence leaves no doubt that this conviction cannot stand. In fact, the Attorney General concedes that, in the circumstances, a miscarriage of justice has occurred and that D.A.M. should now be acquitted. The evidence discloses that D.A.M. is a law abiding and productive member of society who has been in a long-term relationship with his spouse and that he has suffered greatly as a result of this miscarriage of justice. The statement in his affidavit to the effect he bears no animus toward the complainant speaks volumes. In the circumstances, we allow the appeal, quash the conviction, and enter a verdict of acquittal." D.A.M. v. R., 2017 NBCA 9 (CanLII) In court records D. A. M. was only identified by his initials." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjury by alleged victim about sexual assaults that never happened. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On January 20, 2017 the New Brunswick Court of Appeal quashed D. A. M.'s conviction and ordered his acquittal." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
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Information Source 1: |
"D.A.M. v. R., 2017 NBCA 9 (CanLII) (Quashing conviction and ordering acquittal)" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.canlii.org/en/nb/nbca/doc/2017/2017nbca9/2017nbca9.html |
Information Source 2: |
"N.B. judge overturns conviction of grandfather accused of sexual interference, By The Canadian Press, CTVNews.ca, February 24, 2017" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/n-b-judge-overturns-conviction-of-grandfather-accused-of-sexual-interference-1.3300020 |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org