Vernon Courthouse
(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)
July 19, 2013 - 4:18 PM
VERNON - A man accused of sexually assaulting his daughter's babysitter was found not guilty by a jury in Vernon Supreme Court.
Corey W. Krause was charged with sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference of a person under 14.
The complainant testified Krause first assaulted her when she was 11 or 12, and continued to do so for several years, totaling some 15-20 encounters. She said some of the sexual acts occured at her house, and other times at his home when she was babysitting his infant daughter. She said she was too scared to tell anyone at the time—especially her parents who were good friends with the Krauses—and waited until she was 19 to report it to police.
In his closing argument, defense lawyer Juan O'Quinn said the girl was "infatuated" with Krause and the one to initiate the relationship. Further, he said she was at least 14-years-old and of legal age to consent.
Crown lawyer Chris Balison asked the jury to consider who had been more credible under oath: Krause or the complainant. He said the girl was honest and candid while Krause spent considerable amounts of time thinking of "how best to answer the question."
In the end, the seven man, five woman jury decided Krause couldn't be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
"The jury came back in an hour and a half and found him not guilty on all three charges," O'Quinn tells InfoTel News.
He says Krause can move on with his life now, and hopes the victim can too.
"When you do a sexual assault trial, it's onerous for everyone involved, very testing on both the families," O'Quinn says. "There's no great joy in doing these types of trials."
O'Quinn says the Crown has 30 days to appeal the decision, but he hasn't heard anything since the decision was given earlier this month.
When contacted by InfoTel News, Balison refused to comment on the case or the possibility of an appeal.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013