A 51-year-old man from the town of Raymond was handed his second guilty decision of the year in Lethbridge court on Tuesday, as a judge convicted him of two counts of sexual assault involving two women, dating back to the 1980s.
Two other counts — one of sexual assault and one of sexual interference — were dropped, after the judge said there were inconsistencies in the testimony of one of the complainants.
The man cannot be identified under a court-ordered publication ban to protect the identity of the complainants, all of whom were underage when the alleged acts occurred.
Earlier this year, the man was convicted of sexually assaulting three girls when he too was a youth, and was sentenced by a youth court judge to 60 days in prison, all to be served on weekends.
Some of the complainants from the first trial were also complainants in the subsequent trial, dealing with charges against the accused after he turned 18.
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RCMP laid charges after a woman came forward in 2016, saying she was sexually abused as a child by a man who was known to her. During the investigation, more women came forward with similar allegations.
During testimony, the first victim said she decided to come forward after learning that the accused had been placed in a position of authority in his church.
While testifying on his own behalf last month, the accused admitted to assaulting one of the girls a couple of times after becoming an adult, but he denied touching the other two after turning 18.
While waiting for Tuesday’s decision, the accused sat stoically next to his lawyer as the judge stated that she did not find the accused to be a credible witness, based on inconsistencies in his testimony between the two trials.
The 51-year-old was required to hand over his passport on Tuesday following the decision.
A sentencing date will be set on Jan. 13.
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