Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Appeal launched in ex-soldier sexual assault case
From the Edmonton Sun :
A former Canadian soldier who was found not criminally responsible for sexually assaulting a teenage girl could find himself back in court.
The Crown is appealing a Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench ruling last month that Roger Borsch, 34, was not guilty due to a mental disorder.
Borsch did not dispute that he attacked a 13-year-old girl in The Pas, Man., in 2004 - taping her mouth shut and fondling her at knifepoint. But his lawyer successfully argued Borsch suffered from post-traumatic stress resulting from a six-month tour in Bosnia 10 years earlier.
I'm not disputing the existence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but I can't believe that a judge wouldn't allow testimony that would call into question whether that trauma had occurred in the first place.
From the Canadian Press :
After the trial began, a soldier who served with Borsch came forward and was set to dispute Borsch's account of what happened in Bosnia. But Justice Nathan Nurgitz ruled the soldier could not testify because it would likely delay the trial.
Clearly that ruling makes complete sense.
From the Edmonton Sun :
A former Canadian soldier who was found not criminally responsible for sexually assaulting a teenage girl could find himself back in court.
The Crown is appealing a Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench ruling last month that Roger Borsch, 34, was not guilty due to a mental disorder.
Borsch did not dispute that he attacked a 13-year-old girl in The Pas, Man., in 2004 - taping her mouth shut and fondling her at knifepoint. But his lawyer successfully argued Borsch suffered from post-traumatic stress resulting from a six-month tour in Bosnia 10 years earlier.
I'm not disputing the existence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but I can't believe that a judge wouldn't allow testimony that would call into question whether that trauma had occurred in the first place.
From the Canadian Press :
After the trial began, a soldier who served with Borsch came forward and was set to dispute Borsch's account of what happened in Bosnia. But Justice Nathan Nurgitz ruled the soldier could not testify because it would likely delay the trial.
Clearly that ruling makes complete sense.
# posted by Die Brucke @ 2:22 PM 
