Sex charges stayed in case of former B.C. Indigenous leader Edward John

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — The B.C. Prosecution Service says a keep of proceedings has been directed within the intercourse assault trial of former provincial cupboard minister and Indigenous chief Edward John. 

The choice to halt the case within the B.C. Supreme Courtroom in Prince George follows cross-examination of a complainant in allegations that date again to 1974.

Justice Terence Schultes known as an early break in proceedings when the girl, now in her 60s, broke down in tears underneath questioning from John’s defence lawyer, Tony Paisana.

Paisana had mentioned there have been inconsistencies between statements she offered to authorities concerning the alleged assaults, which had been mentioned to have occurred when John was government director of the Doh Day De Claa Friendship Centre, the place his accuser had a summer time job.

The girl replied that the discrepancies had been as a result of stress she was underneath and that the recollections turned clearer as she talked about them.

“I did not lie on goal,” she mentioned.

The girl expressed frustration with Paisana’s questioning, prompting Schultes to intervene to attempt to to calm her down. 

Almost an hour into the proceedings on Tuesday morning, she mentioned: “I am sorry, I would like a break.” 

Prosecutor Michael Klein met with the girl in an interview room and when Klein returned to the courtroom about an hour later, he instructed Schultes the case wouldn’t proceed towards 71-year-old John, who has pleaded not responsible.

The B.C. Prosecution Service mentioned in a press release the fees had been stayed as a result of the cost evaluation normal, which requires a considerable chance of conviction and that expenses be within the public curiosity, was now not met.

John, a lawyer and hereditary chief of the Tl’azt’en Nation, was appointed to the B.C. cupboard and served as minister for the Kids’s Ministry within the New Democrat authorities between November 2000 and June 2001. 

(Prince George Citizen)

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed July 26, 2022. 

Mark Nielsen, Prince George Citizen, The Canadian Press