Local defence lawyer alleges prosecutorial abuse

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on October 14, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge lawyer who accuses the Crown prosecutor of abusing judicial process in a high profile sex assault case, has asked a judge to throw out the charge.

“I have an application to make this morning,” Michael Dietrich told Judge Grace Auger Thursday in Lethbridge provincial court. “The application is to quash the information which is before this court, on the basis of prosecutorial abuse of process.”

The accused, Abdullah Mohammad, is charged with one count of sexual assault relating to a human trafficking investigation, and from which charges were laid against 10 individuals more than a year ago.

Mohammad was initially charged with sexual assault, sexual contact with a child, sexual assault as a party to the offence with another person, sexual counsel of a child, sexual assault of a person under the age of 16, trafficking in persons, and aggravated sexual assault. However, all but the charge of sexual assault were withdrawn earlier in the summer by Specialized Prosecutions out of Calgary, which also re-elected to proceed by summary conviction rather than by indictment.

Mohammad was set to stand trial last week, but at the last minute Lethbridge Crown Prosecutor Michael Fox, who was surprised to learn the matter was proceeding by summary conviction, re-elected to proceed by indictment, which allows for longer custodial sentences and/or higher fines. The trial was subsequently cancelled and the matter adjourned. 

“I’m a bit disturbed at the action of the Crown to scuttle the trial last Friday, that was set for months, and then to change it to indictment,” Dietrich said.

Crown Prosecutor Kristi Adams explained Thursday that the defence’s application notice was only delivered to the Crown’s office the previous day and it was not properly prepared. She said Fox left instructions to adjourn the matter for two weeks to allow time for the Crown to prepare a response.

Dietrich, who was acting as an agent for Mohammad’s lawyer, Marcus Mueller, opposed the Crown’s request to adjourn, and urged the judge to immediately deal with his application to quash the charge.

“This man (Mohammad) has been carrying around this load. If you look at the information there were horrible charges, frivolous and vexatious I submit, and the Crown, for whatever reason, withdrew those charges except count number 7.”

The charges stem from a police investigation in which 10 individuals were arrested in August 2021. Police alleged that eight men and two youth from Lethbridge and Calgary selected and groomed a 15-year-old girl and took her to specific locations where sex offences occurred. The individuals had also engaged in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl, and three additional complainants came forward later in connection with the investigation.

The offence of sexual assault is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years or, if the complainant is under the age of 16 years, to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years, if the Crown proceeds by indictment. If the procedure is by summary conviction, the offender is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 18 months or, if the complainant is under the age of 16 years, to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years less a day.

Despite Dietrich’s protests, Judge Auger agreed with the Crown and granted an adjournment.

“The Crown does have a right to properly reply to the submission,” Auger told Dietrich. “If you were in the same shoes, if they presented you something late at night, you’d want the opportunity to properly reply, so we have to give them that same respect.”

The matter is scheduled to return to court Oct. 31 to set a date when Fox and Mueller are both available to speak to the application.

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