The fate of Paul Rene Desmarais now rests in the hands of a judge.
The court heard final arguments Wednesday in the case involving a former Calgary Transit bus driver, accused of sex-related charges involving a teenage girl.
Crown and defence counsel filed written submissions with Justice Richard Neufeld during the summer and on Wednesday appeared in a Calgary court to provide follow-up and clarification on their positions.
Desmarais, 63, is charged with sexual assault, sexual interference with a child under 16, and sexual contact with a youth by a person in authority. The identity of the complainant, now in her mid-20s, along with specific detail from the case, which may reveal her identity is protected by a publication ban.
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During the trial in June, the woman told the court her interactions with Desmarais started out as friendly chit-chat but said the nature of their conversations evolved to become more sexual in nature. Under oath, she testified Desmarais began to touch her breasts and genitalia while he was driving.
“It was very opportunistic,” she said.
She told court the relationship culminated in her performing fellatio on Desmarais in the garage of his family home.
Credibility and plausibility are considerations which Crown prosecutor Pam McCluskey told Justice Neufeld she has raised in her written submission on the case.
“The crown doesn’t need to prove motive,” McCluskey said. “Sometimes, it’s the thrill of the touch, the thrill of the publicness that might be part of what’s happening.”
“We know that sexual touching goes on in all sorts of circumstances [where] the average person may say, ‘that’s weird.'”
“It’s a weird story,” said defence counsel Joan Blumer. “He says it didn’t happen, she says it happened. Yes, the court has to look at the entirety of the case to determine if they believe him.”
Desmarais disputed the woman’s claim that he had pursued a relationship with her and instead told court it was the complainant who made unwanted sexual advances toward him.
“If you believe him, you have to acquit him,” Blumer said. “If you’re not sure you believe him, you have to acquit him.”
“If there’s no reason not to believe him, you have to believe him.”
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Testimony in the trial ended in June, with the defence and Crown taking the summer to prepare and submit final written submissions using transcripts from the trial.
While the case is fast approaching the 30-month window in which criminal matters need to be completed as outlined in the Supreme Court of Canada’s Jordan decision, Blumer told the court in June her client was willing to waive the right to have the matter completed in that timeline, provided the case is concluded by October.
Justice Neufeld will now take the evidence and final arguments and work on rendering a decision. A date for that verdict will be confirmed later in October.
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