Former border agent convicted of rape wins appeal and new trial
Carie Willis argues successfully that trial judge applied more scrutiny to his testimony than that of accuser
A former Canada Border Services agent who was convicted of raping and extorting a woman facing deportation has won his appeal in Nova Scotia's highest court and will get a new trial by judge and jury.
Carie Dexter Willis, 59, appealed his conviction and six-year sentence. He was convicted on charges of sexual assault, breach of trust and extortion.
Willis argued the trial judge, Justice Suzanne Hood, applied more scrutiny to his testimony than that of the accuser.
In a ruling released Wednesday, Chief Justice Michael Wood agreed and also ruled Hood erred in using the woman's previous statements to corroborate her testimony.
Previous statements can be used to rebut an allegation of fabrication of testimony, not to prove a statement's truth, Wood's Nova Scotia Court of Appeal decision said.
Willis has been out on bail and living in Montreal.
In 2003, he was supposed to be handling the deportation file of a Nigerian woman. In 2018, Hood's decision found Willis buried the woman's file in exchange for sex over several months.
The woman, whose identity is banned from publication, came forward with her complaint in 2014.
She was in Canada to study at Dalhousie University.