Ryan Hartman's 3rd appeal denied in sexsomnia case
Judge rejects argument legal process dragged on too long
An Ontario Superior Court judge has denied the latest attempt by a Brockville, Ont., man to shed a sexual assault conviction.
At the Brockville courthouse Tuesday, Justice Kenneth Pedlar said there's no doubt Ryan Hartman was guilty of sexual assault. Rather, the question was whether his charter right to a fair trial had been violated by the length of the legal process.
To that, Pedlar agreed with the previous judge who decided the delays were within reason.
Pedlar: “This is an unusual case.” Second trial took 3 and half years to conclude. <br>“I don’t accept the position of the appellant”<br>I don’t accept that the previous judge’s decision was flawed”
—@judyatrinhHartman was convicted in 2012 for sexually assaulting a woman at a party after he pulled down her pants and anally penetrated her while she was asleep on an air mattress at a house in Spencerville, Ont., in 2011.
That woman, Bekah D'Aoust, successfully argued for the court to lift the publication ban usually placed on survivors of sexual assault, saying she wanted to be able to speak freely about what happened in hopes of helping others.
After an unsuccessful appeal and then a successful appeal, Hartman's conviction was upheld.
During the second trial, Hartman's defence tried to argue it was a case of "sexsomnia" — that he'd been asleep at the time of the assault and was unaware of his actions.
Hartman was found guilty by a judge in November 2018, but his defence launched what's also known as a Jordan appeal.
In March 2019, the judge rejected that appeal and sentenced Hartman to a year in jail and three years of probation.
Hartman then appealed both the guilty verdict and the judge's rejection of the Jordan application.
With files from Judy Trinh