Ex-Woodstock mayor Trevor Birtch appeals for mistrial in first sexual assault case

Former Woodstock mayor Trevor Birtch leaving court in downtown London, Ont., in May.  (Kendra Seguin/CBC - image credit)
Former Woodstock mayor Trevor Birtch leaving court in downtown London, Ont., in May. (Kendra Seguin/CBC - image credit)

The lawyer representing former Woodstock mayor Trevor Birtch has filed a Charter challenge claiming the ex-politician's rights were violated in one of two trials that saw him convicted of sexual assault.

James Battin filed an appeal for a mistrial on Nov. 12, ahead of a sentencing date that had been set for Monday.

Birtch, 49, would have learned his fate for the August conviction of sexual assault in relation to charges from 2021, stemming from a relationship with a woman with whom he had began dating the year before. He was found guilty on two of three charges.

Battin however, said the trial violated Birtch's Charter rights because crown prosecutors didn't disclose how many witnesses they were calling to testify, and one in particular was part of the second trial but not the first.

"The argument is the Crown has an obligation to provide full disclosure of what was in their files," said Battin. "At the first trial, we did not know that there was a call for a third witness....there was not full disclosure, therefore there was an inability to defend yourself fairly."

Birtch is also facing charges for three counts of sexual assault in a separate case that wrapped up in September, and where a verdict has not yet been issued.

Battin claims that Birtch's acquaintance testified in that trial but was not called on as a witness in the first trial.

Justice Michael Carnegie will make a decision on the Charter challenge on Dec. 12. If the case is deemed a mistrial, Birtch will likely get a brand new trial, said Battin.

In his decision to convict, Carnegie said Birtch's evidence failed to cast a reasonable doubt on the woman's allegations, and was intentionally misleading to make her appear like a jealous and irrational person.