Sex assault victim confronted abuser on Facebook, decision shows

A written decision released by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia details how a teenager who was molested as a child was tracked down by her abuser years later over Facebook.

The teen later confronted the man, John Shea McInnis, who was then a recruitment director at Cape Breton University. She eventually went to police.

The story of the teen and her abuser is laid out in a written decision by Justice Arthur LeBlanc, detailing why the judge found McInnis guilty earlier this fall of sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching for incidents between 2000 and 2006.

McInnis was first charged in 2013.

McInnis searched her name 'thousands' of times

The victim, now 22 years old, is believed to have been assaulted between ages eight and 13. Her name is protected by a publication ban.

During the indictment period, McInnis made the victim perform oral sex on him, the decision found.

Years later, McInnis contacted the victim, then in her late teens, through instant messaging and Facebook, using two separate accounts, the court document said. He also searched her names thousands of times on the internet, it said.

'I just want some closure'

The written decision includes transcripts of the messages, in which McInnis asked about her sex life, referred to her boyfriend as her "second great love," and even advised her on university programs.

"I'm scared to live because of what you did," the victim wrote, to which McInnis replied, "really oh my god."

"I was a kid," she wrote. "I have to deal with it everyday and I hate it... You knew the whole time how wrong it was. I was 12 you think you didn't [scar] me for life?"

She asked him if he'd assaulted other people, which he denied, transcripts show. No longer a child, she said she understood what had happened.

"I just want some closure so I can move on with my life," she said.

'I do not believe the accused'

McInnis did not testify in his defence. Instead, his defence relied on his statement to police, which the judge said amounted to a denial of the complainant's allegation.

"I do not believe the accused," wrote the judge.

McInnis is scheduled to be sentenced near the end of January.

Almost 90 per cent of non-spousal sexual assaults are never reported to police, according to Statistics Canada.