Lawyer for figure skating coach says Crown can't prove he sent lewd Snapchats to teen

The attorney of a figure skating coach accused of sex crimes against two minors argued Tuesday to have several charges against him dismissed, saying the Crown couldn't prove that Snapchats he allegedly sent to one teen actually came from the coach himself.

Matthew Power was back in Supreme Court in St. John's as his lawyer, Rosellen Sullivan, ran through the evidence presented against him earlier this year.

Power is facing 10 counts, including sexual assault, child luring, sexual interference and making pornography available to minors for alleged crimes that span several years.

The Crown has called several witnesses to support its case, including police investigators and two complainants, plus friends and family members.

Sullivan argued the four charges related to allegations from the first teen — which involve luring and making sexually explicit material available to a child — should be dismissed, saying the evidence those charges are based on can't be linked to Power.

The complainant testified she took photos of Snapchats that Power had sent her with her old phone. Among those photos is an image of the crotch area of what appears to be a man's pyjama bottoms and a photo that says "I've seen you in your bra before."

The prosecution is arguing those messages — which include "well I've been told I'm really good with my tongue" and "my pullout game is strong lol" — contain sexual content. 

But Sullivan argued in her final submissions Tuesday it's not certain those photos came from Power, and that they could have easily been edited. All forensics could conclude was the date the complainant took a photo of the phone screen, she said — not whether Power had sent the photos himself, when he may have sent them or whether the photos had been doctored.

Sullivan also pointed out that a Skate Canada employee also had access to the same photos, despite the complainant testifying she'd never sent them to anyone. Sullivan argued that fact was enough to create doubt about Power's guilt.

She also said the earliest photos allegedly sent to the complainant showed a cracked phone screen. Later photos showed an undamaged phone screen. When police searched the complainant's phone, the cracks were present — indicating the photos had been taken on at least two different phones.

Even if the judge were to accept the Crown's case that Power sent the photos and they were undoctored, Sullivan continued, the content of the texts isn't enough to convict. 

"The evidence from the text is, 'I've seen you in your bra.' Is that enough ... to suggest some sort of request for child pornography? No. It's not. That is speculation," Sullivan said.

The complainant testified nothing inappropriate had ever happened between her and Power in person. That negates any suggestion he planned to prey on her, Sullivan said. 

2nd complainant unreliable: defence

The second complainant in the case, who also testified in January, accused Power of touching her sexually several times while she was under 16.

Power has denied any sexual contact between them, Sullivan said.

The attorney argued that several inconsistencies between the complainant's police statements and her testimony are enough to make her an unreliable witness, and that her client should be acquitted as a result.

The complainant testified he had penetrated her digitally, performed oral sex on her, and requested lewd photos while she was a minor. But Sullivan says when presented with inconsistencies on the witness stand, the complainant often said she'd omitted certain details in statements to police because she "didn't want to talk about it."

That amounts to a concerning pattern, Sullivan continued, given that she "presented as a very, very confident witness" who "didn't have any difficulty talking about this issue unprompted in court."

Crown prosecutor Nicole Hurley is scheduled to respond to defence submissions on Wednesday.

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