Ivan Henry, who was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault in 1983, leaves B.C. Supreme Court during a lunch break in Vancouver, B.C., on Monday August 31, 2015. Henry is suing prosecutors for allegedly breaching his charter rights after he was acquitted in 2010 of 10 sexual-assault convictions.

Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER - The wrongful conviction of a British Columbia man who spent nearly three decades behind bars hinged on a flawed police investigation and Crown prosecutors who were willing to go to extremes to prove they'd found their man, a court has heard.

Ivan Henry's lawyer John Laxton was in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday to argue that his client deserves compensation after he was mistakenly convicted in 1983 of 10 counts of sexual assault and spent 27 years in prison.

"The consequences to Mr. Henry and his family have been devastating and the honour and integrity of the judicial system have been seriously harmed," Laxton told the court.

"His release from custody did not release him from the demons that haunted him while in custody."

The B.C. Court of Appeal quashed Henry's convictions in 2010 following more than 40 applications for relief filed by Henry and his daughters.

Reading a piece of correspondence between two Crown lawyers from 1982, Laxton said one of the prosecutors wrote that "the accused is so obvious," before insisting that if "one girl" could successfully identify Henry they would be able to link the remaining cases together against him.

Laxton also presented in court sections of a handwritten letter from one of the complainants sent to the private address of a police officer involved in the investigation, revealing what he described as an inappropriate relationship.

"I didn't want to let you down. I didn't want to disappoint you," read Laxton, describing the comments as reasons offered by the woman for identifying Henry as her attacker.

"You have a very special place in my heart and I think of you often," Laxton read to the court. "Take care of those blue eyes."

The positive identification came from a photo of a police lineup that showed Henry being held in a chokehold by officers, which Laxton described as "seriously flawed and unfair."

"This is the bedrock point of the failed police investigation," he said.

Additional information that wasn't disclosed to defence included sperm found on several of the complainants, which Laxton said had a blood type that failed to match his client's.

"That evidence would have exonerated Henry," said Laxton. "(Henry was) deprived of the ability to prove scientifically he was not guilty."

Henry's wrongful-conviction lawsuit names the federal government, the province, the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Police Department.

The courts initially prevented Henry from holding prosecutors liable for negligence following his acquittal. But the Supreme Court of Canada overturned that decision earlier this year.

Cases of wrongful imprisonment are typically settled out of court in Canada, Laxton told the court.

"This is the first time a victim of such an egregious wrong has found it necessary to bring his claim for compensation to court," he said. "It will be a precedent that should never have had to be necessary."

Henry was present in court on Monday, sitting calmly alongside one of his daughters in the crowded public gallery. He said he was happy with the proceedings so far.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2015