James Rektor appears in this March 2024 photo.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK: James Rektor

A Kelowna man, who kicked his wife in the head while she was pregnant, was been found guilty of assault following years of domestic abuse.

According to a Jan. 15 BC Supreme Court decision, James Edward Thomas Rektor, born 1996, subjected his ex-wife to physical, emotional and mental abuse, and lied to the Ministry of Children and Family Development so she lost custody of her children.

Rektor denied he'd ever assaulted his ex and argued she was making it up so she could get more parenting time with their two children.

However, BC Supreme Court Justice Jasvinder Basran didn't buy it and found him guilty of all four counts of assault.

Rektor and his ex-wife were barely out of their teens when they met in 2015 and she was pregnant a few months later. iNFOnews.ca's policy is not to identify victims of domestic violence unless they ask to be.

They got married five months later and had two children before separating in 2020.

The decision depicts a brave young woman, trying her best in extremely difficult circumstances while living with a violent, abusive and threatening husband.

It was 18 months after they split up, and only after being urged by her social worker, that she went to police and reported that Rektor had assaulted her multiple times over the years.

Previously, she had always been too scared to go to the police. Rektor had threatened that as his parents worked as RCMP dispatchers no one would believe her.

The decision said the couple's relationship was volatile and tumultuous from its inception and they regularly argued about Rektor's infidelity and money.

The couple had received $5,000 from their wedding and he wanted to spend some on a tattoo.

"(She) objected because their financial situation was precarious. At that time, Mr. Rektor had significant credit card debts, had recently purchased a new vehicle, and was not working," Justice Basran said in the decision.

In contrast, she was heavily pregnant and working full-time for $14 an hour.

An argument broke out and Rektor pushed her from behind to the floor. He then kicked her in the head. She was six or seven months pregnant at the time.

"In the aftermath of this attack, (she) recalled thinking that their relationship was pointless because Mr. Rektor had just beat up his pregnant wife. However, she decided to stay with him because she was only 20 years old, she was pregnant, and her parents were disappointed with her being pregnant," the Justice said. "(She) also felt that she could not call the police because Mr. Rektor’s parents were both police dispatchers...  (and) if she called the police, she would be disbelieved and arrested."

She felt she had no choice and stayed with him, but after the baby was born things didn't improve.

In another incident, she had just put down their one-month-old baby when Rektor indicated he wanted to have sex. She didn't want to be touched.

"She was exhausted, felt unclean, and wanted to take a shower," the decision said. "He became belligerent and aggressively yelled at her."

The situation escalated.

"Mr. Rektor aggressively pushed her into a wall. She slid down the wall and crumpled to the floor. Mr. Rektor then repeatedly kicked her in the stomach, while screaming that she was a stupid wife and a terrible woman that no one cared about," the Justice said.

She screamed and Rektor put his hand over her mouth.

"Mr. Rektor told (her) that even if she called the police, either no one would come or he would tell them that she was crazy," the Justice said.

He told her if she told anyone she would never see her daughter again.

"She felt alone and afraid that she was going to die at Mr. Rektor’s hands," the Justice said.

During Christmas 2017, another incident happened when he pushed her and her head hit the door frame, and then he locked her outside. He dared her to call the police.

She told him he needed counselling as she didn't want their daughter to be raised in a violent household. He blamed her for their marital problems.

James Rektor appears in this 2016 photo.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK: James Rektor

In 2019, she had their second child.

The pregnancy wasn't easy, but she still continued to work.

"After a day of work, (she) was usually exhausted, in pain, and unable to do laundry, prepare meals, or clean the house," the decision read.

On one occasion, she came home from work in "searing pain" and ran a bath.

He came into the bathroom and told her to make dinner.

She refused, and he grabbed her around the throat.

"It began going dark, and the walls were closing in on her. She was terrified that Mr. Rektor was going to kill her in front of her daughter so she furiously fought back," the Justice said.

She was about seven months pregnant at the time.

He claimed it was self-defence and blamed her for the violence that he initiated.

"She also stated that he did this throughout their relationship," the Justice said.

After Rektor had assaulted (her) in the bathtub, she began recording on her phone.

The audio recording was submitted to the court where he admitted to attacking her and apologizing.

She didn't report the attack and he told if she did he'd only go to jail for one day.

"She testified that, once again, she felt trapped and as though it would not matter if she reported the assault... (and) she was afraid of losing her child if she reported the assault," the court document read.

The situation remained the same and five days before their second daughter was born Rektor repeatedly spit on her.

They finally separated in June 2020.

"During their relationship, Mr. Rektor repeatedly threatened to take their children away from (her) and in September 2021, he followed through with this threat by concocting allegations that Ms. Connaghan was suicidal and a threat to her children," the Justice said.

He falsely accused her of physically assaulting their older daughter by smashing her head into a toilet at a public washroom.

The RCMP and the Ministry of Children and Family Development began investigating and her parenting time was severely restricted. In five months she saw her children about 10 times for short supervised periods.

He then deliberately misled the court and obtained a restraining order.

The decision said Rektor wanted more parenting time so he could pay less child support.  

"She felt that he manipulated the police and the legal system into achieving his objective of depriving her of parenting time with her children. She stated that she lives in fear that he will do this again, possibly based on her testimony during this trial," the Justice said.

The allegations against her were found to be false, and she regained access to her kids.

"I am satisfied that (she) has a well-founded fear that he will dishonestly invent allegations against her for the purpose of preventing her from seeing their two children," the Justice said.

Throughout the trial, Rektor denied all the allegations against him and accused (her) of fabricating the assaults to get access to her children.

The Justice dismissed his arguments.

Both individuals have new partners and Rektor has had another child.

While she had said she was "horrified, disgusted and angry" with him she said she now has no ongoing malice and hopes they will be able to co-parent their two children.

Rektor said this inconsistency damaged her credibility.

The Justice said it was nothing of the sort.

"Bearing no ongoing malice towards Mr. Rektor is a healthy indication of (her) recovery and the progress she has made since the tumultuous events of their relationship," the Justice said.

He will be sentenced at a later date.

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