
Police, Crown prosecutors gather to tackle human trafficking
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WATCH: Saskatoon is playing host to the Maddison Sessions, bringing together police and Crown prosecutors from across Canada seeking to tackle human trafficking.
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Toronto Star
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Don't believe players' cooked-up, ‘parroted' story, Crown says in closing arguments at Hockey Canada trial
LONDON, Ont.—In making her final pitch for convictions at the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, a Crown attorney repeated the same words the prosecution used in its opening statement nearly eight weeks ago: 'This case may not look the way one anticipates a sexual assault to look.' The central issue in the case is whether the complainant, whose identity is covered by a standard publication ban, consented to sexual activity with Alex Formenton, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote, all members of the 2018 Canadian world junior championship team, in a room at the Delta Armouries hotel in the early hours of June 19, 2018, when she was 20 years old.


Calgary Herald
15 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Edmonton police officer who repeatedly struck arrestee with baton found not guilty
An Edmonton police officer caught on video hitting a man with his baton has been acquitted of assault. Article content Jurors on Wednesday returned to the courtroom after nine hours of deliberation and found Const. Alexander Doduk not guilty of two counts of assault for his arrest of construction worker Justin LaFrance near the Edmonton courthouse on a snowy morning in 2019. Article content Article content Article content LaFrance claimed Doduk attacked him as he tried to talk to a man suspected of breaking a window, while Doduk said LaFrance resisted arrest, including by grabbing at his duty belt. Article content Article content The chaotic arrest — during which Doduk hit and punched LaFrance before striking him repeatedly with his baton — was captured on security cameras at the nearby Royal Alberta Museum. The cameras did not record sound, leading to competing claims from Crown and defence about what LaFrance and Doduk said before and during the arrest. Article content As a rule, jurors do not explain how they arrived at their verdict, but the outcome indicates they believed the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Doduk used excessive force. Article content Jurors did not hear other details about Doduk's career — including his role in the death of Steven Nguyen, an unarmed man who died after Doduk shot him four times in 2021. The shooting was investigated by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), which concluded there were grounds to believe Doduk committed a 'culpable homicide.' The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, however, declined to proceed with charges, saying it could not prove Doduk's actions were 'unreasonable' under the Criminal Code's police use-of-force provisions. Article content Article content Article content The arrest at the centre of Doduk's trial happened Nov. 26, 2019. LaFrance was part of a crew renovating a building across the street from the Edmonton courthouse and told court he heard glass break during his morning site check. He walked out onto 97 Street, flagged down a passerby and asked if he had seen someone break a window. The passerby pointed to a man in dark clothing on the opposite street corner by the museum, LaFrance testified. Article content Article content LaFrance said he waved to Doduk as the officer drove by in his cruiser, and crossed 97 Street diagonally after Doduk flashed his lights to control traffic. He said he caught up with the alleged vandal and calmly asked him to stop until police arrived. Article content Doduk described a different scene. Driving by on his way to the courthouse, Doduk claimed he heard LaFrance screaming threats at the vandalism suspect, then saw him cross the busy road during rush hour. Doduk said he parked his cruiser and went after the two men, worried they would come to blows.

Winnipeg Free Press
17 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Charges stayed in sextortion case against Winnipeg man
Prosecutors have stayed charges against a Winnipeg man accused of blackmailing men and boys in several provinces in a so-called 'sextortion' scheme after the alleged victims said they couldn't bring themselves to testify. Tongun Justin Tongun, who was 21 when he was charged by Winnipeg police with 10 counts of extortion in 2023, was accused of soliciting images from males on the internet, then threatening to post them online unless the victims sent him money. All 10 counts against Tongun were stayed in May, court records show. 'In preparation for this matter, the Crown contacted a number of victims,' a provincial government spokesman wrote in an email. 'After reviewing the matter and taking into consideration the impact to the victims, their unwillingness to relive the experience by testifying, the Crown determined not to proceed but did seek restitution for all the victims as per their wishes.' The Winnipeg Police Service began investigating Tongun after a man in his 20s came forward with allegations of extortion in February 2023. The victim told investigators he had shared intimate photos with someone online who pretended to be a young woman, before the person demanded cash and threatened to release the pictures. The victim transferred the scammer money, police said at the time. City sex crimes detectives charged Tongun with four counts of extortion that February after locating three more victims in Winnipeg, before later finding another six victims across Canada and filing more charges in June 2023. Police and cybersafety experts call the scams 'sextortion.' The scam typically involves a suspect threatening to distribute intimate or sexual images of a victim after they've gained their trust through 'sexually charged' conversations online, typically through social-media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat, officials have said. The suspect will usually demand payment. Victims are often male teenagers or young adults who believe they are communicating with a woman. Erik PinderaReporter Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik. Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.