The sexual assault trial of a rural Manitoba doctor has been delayed to clear away evidence that could be lost or destroyed.
Dr. Arcel Bissonnette is facing 22 sexual assault charges for alleged crimes against several female patients while he worked you are. AnneA city southeast of Winnipeg.
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The trial was scheduled to hear from its first witness on Monday, but Bissonnette’s lawyers said they have concerns about missing documents from the city’s police department that detail claims against the doctor that date back to 2017.
The former lead investigator in the case told the court she kept detailed records in a notebook, which she left with the Sainte-Anne Police Department when she accepted a new job in 2019.
The defense says there are significant concerns about the investigation as they have only found a few pages of notes.
The judge-alone trial has been adjourned to give the Crown and police time to track down the documents or determine whether they were destroyed.
“Where are the notebooks? This is important evidence,” Lisa Labossiere, the doctor’s attorney, said Monday.
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LaBossiere said the defense was informed about the missing notebooks late last month.
Jacqueline Lawford, the lead investigator, who was a constable at the time, said she left several notebooks in a drawer at the station.
“I think there will be more notes,” Lawford told the court when presented with a copy of the notes in evidence.
The court heard that police emails showed they had not been able to trace the notebooks.
Police are trying to gain access to Lawford’s account and email, which Lawford deleted when he left, to see if they can find supplementary documents.
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LaBossiere said it deals with aspects of the undocumented investigation.
“There are unanswered questions,” the defense attorney said.
Crown prosecutor Paul Girdlestone said the court could look at the issue one step at a time as the trial progresses.
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