Stepdad cleared of abuse, can see kids again

5-26-2009 Canada:

Estranged wife hired hitman to kill him

A Toronto man -- whose estranged wife hired a hitman to kill him -- was cleared of allegations he molested his stepdaughter.

The 40-year-old man who wept on the witness stand while describing the anguish of being estranged from his children was acquitted by Justice Silja Seppi, who found his evidence "resonates as truth."

The Brampton judge decided the mother was not a credible witness, noting she "manipulates facts" and tried to have the accused killed after their separation.

The judge also found that the child may have been coached to testify against her stepdad.

The judge said the timing of her mother's report to the police about the sexual assaults, "coming as it did in the heat of a high-conflict matrimonial separation," is relevant.

"She was clearly determined to punish the accused by whatever means at her disposal as evidenced by her plan to have him killed," the judge said in the judgment released last week.

"The mother was also the benefactor of his being charged, as he was then removed from the matrimonial home, allowing her to return with the children free of his presence."

The hitman, who admitted hating the accused, testified the girl told him she "would tell the police whatever her mother and father told her to say about the stepfather," Seppi said. His evidence was "firm and convincing."

The hitman said the girl was being used as a pawn in the family court battle and he believed the mom was motivated by her hatred against the accused for their bitter breakup, not for the alleged sexual abuse.

The judge said the girl, now 11, "was also visibly and verbally reluctant when she talked about the stepdad sexually assaulting her" and was rarely specific.

"Her reluctance and lack of detail could be a manifestation of having been coached on what to say, and being at a loss, when asked about matters beyond what had been coached."

The girl corroborated to the judge the videotaped statements she made to police in 2005 and '06 of mostly genital rubbing, which allegedly occurred when she was six to seven years old.

A publication ban prevents naming the girl or anyone who may lead to her being identified.

Last year, the girl's mother, now 31, pleaded guilty to planning the November 2005 hit against the accused molester -- which she later cancelled.

The mother of four was given a stay-at-home sentence of nine months and probation. She was in jail for six weeks in '06 until she made bail. ..News Source.. by SAM PAZZANO, COURTS BUREAU