A Cochrane man, Allan Dean Griffin, will be re-tried on six counts relating to the sexual assaults of three minors - including his daughter and two stepdaughters.
A Cochrane man, Allan Dean Griffin, will be re-tried on six counts relating to the sexual assaults of three minors - including his daughter and two stepdaughters.
The re-trial was determined after the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled that the judge who found Griffin not guilty in 2013 relied on myths and stereotypes about how victims react in such circumstances.
Justice Yamauchi questioned why the girls, who were all between the ages of five and nine at the time of the alleged encounters, had taken so many years to come forward with the accusations.
The charges include three counts of sexual assault, one of sexual contact and two counts of breach of trust.
The re-trial begins Dec. 5 at the Court of Queen's Bench in Calgary.
According to Crown prosecutor Ron Simenik, there has been no publication ban imposed on the upcoming trial; a ban was lifted during the initial trial.
According to Griffin's ex-wife Dawn (also the mother of one of the victims) the victims and the Crown pushed for the removal of the publication ban.
“This retrial is happening because the judge made errors in his verdict and tried these five, six and eight-year-olds as adults - not children, ” said Dawn.
“It's not me or any of us pushing this trial … it's the judicial appeals department that found two major errors in the first trial which acquitted Dean. ”
The Eagle previously interviewed Dawn's daughter during the initial trial in 2013.
