of sex assault on Manitoba girl
A former soldier who admitted to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in Manitoba has been found not guilty, because he convinced the judge that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Justice Nathan Nurgitz, who handed down the verdict in a Winnipeg court on Thursday, said that in cases where a mental disorder — such as PTSD — is used as a defense, the onus is on the party claiming that defence to prove the illness.
But the judge said the team of experts called by the defence convinced him that Roger Borsch, 34, was indeed suffering from PTSD.
Borsch did not contest the Crown's assertion that he attacked the girl in her home in the northern Manitoba community of The Pas two years earlier, but blamed post-traumatic stress disorder for his actions.
He told the court about horrors he saw as a Canadian Forces peacekeeper in Bosnia in 1994.
He said he once came across a Serbian soldier raping a young girl and shot the man in the head. On another occasion, he said, he saw a girl killed by a landmine.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, a court can find that an accused person committed an act but is not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder.
Verdict could spur bogus cases, Crown warns
Crown attorney Don Knight said he and the victim's family would discuss the possibility of appealing the verdict.
Knight said he was concerned about the precedent the verdict would set if other people begin to say they committed crimes because of having PTSD.
"It certainly puts you on a slippery slope. Everybody could start to allege that. Whether or not that will happen, time will only tell," Knight said.
"Certainly, they're finding in the United States, particularly, there is a lot of studies that are showing that a lot of PTSD diagnoses they're finding now are malingerers. They just do not have it, they're making it up. So things are changing."
Victim's parents weep, shout insults
The victim of the attack was in the courtroom when Nurgitz delivered the verdict.
She remained quiet throughout the proceedings, but her parents were much more vocal.
The girl's mother wept when Nurgitz recalled her testimony that Borsch, who was her co-worker at the time of the incident, was not in a proper state of mind when he attacked her daughter.
She had testified that she believed he needed professional help.
The teen's father shook his head in disbelief as the verdict was read. When Borsch was led out of the courtroom, the father yelled insults after him.
Borsch to undergo psych review
Borsch is to remain in custody until a psychiatric review board examines the case.
It will decide whether he should be hospitalized or released into the community, and if released, what kind of supervision should be ordered.
Jason Miller, the defence lawyer, said the board had 45 days to make a decision on the matter.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/06/22/soldier-not-guilty.html
A former soldier who admitted to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in Manitoba has been found not guilty, because he convinced the judge that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Justice Nathan Nurgitz, who handed down the verdict in a Winnipeg court on Thursday, said that in cases where a mental disorder — such as PTSD — is used as a defense, the onus is on the party claiming that defence to prove the illness.
But the judge said the team of experts called by the defence convinced him that Roger Borsch, 34, was indeed suffering from PTSD.
Borsch did not contest the Crown's assertion that he attacked the girl in her home in the northern Manitoba community of The Pas two years earlier, but blamed post-traumatic stress disorder for his actions.
He told the court about horrors he saw as a Canadian Forces peacekeeper in Bosnia in 1994.
He said he once came across a Serbian soldier raping a young girl and shot the man in the head. On another occasion, he said, he saw a girl killed by a landmine.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, a court can find that an accused person committed an act but is not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder.
Verdict could spur bogus cases, Crown warns
Crown attorney Don Knight said he and the victim's family would discuss the possibility of appealing the verdict.
Knight said he was concerned about the precedent the verdict would set if other people begin to say they committed crimes because of having PTSD.
"It certainly puts you on a slippery slope. Everybody could start to allege that. Whether or not that will happen, time will only tell," Knight said.
"Certainly, they're finding in the United States, particularly, there is a lot of studies that are showing that a lot of PTSD diagnoses they're finding now are malingerers. They just do not have it, they're making it up. So things are changing."
Victim's parents weep, shout insults
The victim of the attack was in the courtroom when Nurgitz delivered the verdict.
She remained quiet throughout the proceedings, but her parents were much more vocal.
The girl's mother wept when Nurgitz recalled her testimony that Borsch, who was her co-worker at the time of the incident, was not in a proper state of mind when he attacked her daughter.
She had testified that she believed he needed professional help.
The teen's father shook his head in disbelief as the verdict was read. When Borsch was led out of the courtroom, the father yelled insults after him.
Borsch to undergo psych review
Borsch is to remain in custody until a psychiatric review board examines the case.
It will decide whether he should be hospitalized or released into the community, and if released, what kind of supervision should be ordered.
Jason Miller, the defence lawyer, said the board had 45 days to make a decision on the matter.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/06/22/soldier-not-guilty.html
