Warning: This story contains disturbing details
Christopher Duke was found guilty of sexually assaulting a person under the age of 16 almost three years to the day after the attack.
The 51-year-old Regina man was stoic as Justice Graham Mitchell read his decision at the Queen’s Court in Regina on Thursday.
Under the Criminal Code, Duke now faces at least one year in prison with a maximum sentence of 14 years. He remains free on bail but must surrender his passport and remain in Saskatchewan.
Duke was accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl at a home in east Regina on the evening of July 31, 2019.
Any information that could identify the complainant is protected by a publication ban.
Although Duke faces only one charge of sexually assaulting a person under the age of 16, the court heard testimony during the trial that the appellant had been repeatedly assaulted by Duke over the years since they had known each other.
During the trial, which lasted more than eight months, the Crown called 14 witnesses, while the defense called only three, including Duke, who testified in his own defense.
The trial faced repeated delays, with a six-month hiatus between testimony and closing arguments and another two-month delay between closing arguments and the publication of the decision.
The delays were due to scheduling issues resulting from other trials or commitments facing Mitchell, defense attorney Chris McLeod and Crown prosecutor Leona Andrews.
Duke pleaded not guilty on the first day of the trial and repeatedly denied having sexual contact with the appellant.
The attack
On the night of July 31, appellant’s brother testified that he entered Duke’s home and assaulted his sister.
He said he was initially shocked by what was happening, testifying that he saw Duke “rape” his sister,
The brother didn’t immediately confront Duke or disclose the assault to his mother, and later that night he chatted with his sister on Snapchat.
She told him the attacks had been happening since she was six years old.
The next morning, Duke left home on a business trip to Alberta.
After he left, the siblings informed their mother of the sexual assaults, and the mother called Duke and demanded that he return to the home.
When he arrived, a fight broke out between the mother and Duke, with appellant’s mother testifying that Duke stated, “I did it. I do not know why”.
Duke denied saying that during the trial.
The fight would have alerted the neighbors that something was wrong and the appellant’s brother would soon be running next door asking for help as Duke had “raped” his sister.
The police were called and Duke was arrested.
A sexual assault kit performed on the girl found male DNA in the complainant’s vagina.
Forensics from the Regina Police Service and the RCMP have not been able to rule out Duke – or any of his male relatives – as being the person responsible for the DNA collected.
Experts also testified at trial that other tests found appellant’s DNA in a pair of shorts seized by police at the home where the assault occurred.
The Crown presented a theory that the shorts were what Duke was wearing during the alleged attack.
During closing arguments, the defense tried to draw the judge’s attention to inconsistencies in the testimony of the Crown witnesses.
McLeod implied that there was some joint decision between the complainant and her sibling to get their client into legal trouble, without offering an explanation or motive.
Andrews stressed to the judge that no witnesses were examined on anything resembling that theory and that it should be disregarded.
Duke proved unreliable
On Thursday, Mitchell agreed with the crown prosecutor.
“I don’t accept that the defense colluded in any way to frame Mr. Duke in any way regarding these allegations,” Mitchell said.
He also said he found Duke’s testimony that he did nothing wrong was not credible.
He found Duke evasive on the bench during cross-examination and appeared unable or unwilling to admit the shorts were his.
The lack of credibility was contrasted with the evidence given by the applicant and her brother, which the judge found articulate and intelligent.
As a result, Mitchell said, he determined that the appellant’s DNA found on the shorts was there as a result of Duke’s assault on the appellant.
Duke’s sentencing is now scheduled for the morning of October 17.
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