Open in full screen mode Doug Snelgrove heads to court on May 15, 2021. Radio-Canada Speech synthesis, based on artificial intelligence, makes it possible to generate spoken text from written text. The country's highest court on Thursday refused to hear the appeal of a Newfoundland police officer convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in 2014, thus ending a tortuous legal process that has gripped the province for seven years. Supreme Court of Canada ruling closes final avenue of appeal for 46-year-old Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer Carl Douglas Snelgrove, paving the way for imprisonment. A jury found him guilty in Provincial Supreme Court in 2021 following' a mistrial the previous year and a successful appeal of a 2017 acquittal. He was sentenced to four years in prison, but was released on bail pending Thursday's decision. The news was welcomed by Ashley MacDonald, a sexual assault survivor who organized the delivery of hundreds of cards from public to the woman attacked by Snelgrove and who testified at his three trials. People seem to have the impression that there was someone who was able to stand up to the system, Ms. MacDonald said in an interview. I'm obviously so happy for her. It's been so long. Loading ELSELSE ON INFO: Canada bears the mark of Brian Mulroney, the builderLoading in progress ELSE ON NEWS: Canada bears the mark of Brian Mulroney, the builder< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">The case has rocked the province since it began in 2017, when Snelgrove's victim testified about the night he raped her in his living room. Court heard Snelgrove was on duty when he drove the woman home after a night out with friends in downtown St. John, then helped her into her apartment when ;#x27;she couldn't find her keys. She was 21 years old at ;#x27;epoch. The woman's name is protected by a publication ban and she has become known in the province under the name Jane Doe. His supporters regularly demonstrated outside the provincial Supreme Court, expressing anger and solidarity as the case slowly moved through the legal system. In the courtroom, Jane Doe testified confidently, sometimes in tears, as she was forced to repeatedly recount the details of her assault. You know, it's about this man's life, isn't it?, he Snelgrove's defense attorney, Randy Piercey, asked at one point during testimony in May 2021, referring to the police officer. Yes, I know, she replied quickly. It's also six years of my life. Lloyd Strickland, the Crown prosecutor at the trial, told the journalists that he was impressed by Jane Doe and her determination to complete the procedure.
Canada bears the mark of Brian Mulroney, the builder
Canada bears the mark of Brian Mulroney, the builder
Doug Snelgrove before the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador , in 2021, after being released on bail.
Ms MacDonald created the Thank You project during the first trial, in 2017, through which people could send cards to Jane Doe or get signs of encouragement to hang in their windows. Ms. MacDonald also erected a lighted billboard in St. John's in 2021, thanking Jane Doe for coming forward.
She estimates that more than 1,000 people signed cards, hung a sign or helped pay for the billboard.
< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">People kept coming, they kept showing their support, said Ashley MacDonald. It created this community, where for some, they felt safer being survivors.
Snelgrove has been suspended without pay by the Royal Newfoundland Police since charges were laid in 2015, the police force said in a statement after Thursday's decision.
< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">The Royal Newfoundland Police confirm that criminal proceedings have been completed and the public complaint process can now continue, wrote l' Officer James Cadigan.
The public complaints process will determine whether he loses his job.
Meanwhile, an official with the province's special prosecution office confirmed Thursday that Snelgrove must now return to prison.
Since Snelgrove's conviction in 2021, several women, including a Royal Newfoundland Police officer, have contacted the & #x27;Saint-Jean lawyer, Lynn Moore, to tell him that they had also been victims of sexual assault or misconduct on the part of members of the police service. Ms. Moore filed two civil lawsuits in 2022 against the province on behalf of some of the women.
She told At the time, women opted for civil suits in part because they lost faith in the criminal justice system after seeing what Jane Doe experienced in court.
With information from The Canadian Press