HALIFAX – Closing arguments in the case of a Nova Scotia man suing the province and RCMP for being wrongfully convicted of statutory rape will take place Thursday.
Gerald Barton has filed a lawsuit with the province’s Supreme Court, alleging the Nova Scotia Crown of malicious prosecution and the Mounties of negligent investigation.
Earlier Wednesday, a former Crown attorney who led the 1970 case testified that his records show Barton pleaded guilty to the charge just as his trial was about to begin.
Charles Haliburton, now a retired provincial Supreme Court judge, cited documents he retrieved from an old storage room in Digby.
His testimony contrasts with Barton’s, who testified he never pleaded guilty to the charge of having sex with a female between 14 and 16 years of age.
Barton also says a statement to police attributed to him was a fabrication.
In the statement, Barton is quoted as saying he had consensual sex with a 14-year-old girl at her home in Jordantown in 1969.
But Barton testified that he never spoke to any officers.
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