New trial ordered for Calgary stepdad acquitted of beating 4-year-old
Trial judge believed story that stepdaughter fell, but top court found errors in law
A Calgary man who was accused of beating his four-year-old stepdaughter has been sent back to trial after the Alberta Court of Appeal overturned his acquittal.
Tyler Laberge, 35, was accused of a brutal, life-threatening assault on the child, causing a severe brain injury.
Laberge was acquitted of aggravated assault in September 2021 by provincial court Judge Terry Semenuk.
In his decision, Semenuk said he believed the accused's story that the child fell in the bathtub despite the testimony of two medical experts.
On Wednesday, a panel of three Alberta Court of Appeal judges overturned Laberge's acquittal, siding with prosecutor Julie Morgan's arguments that Semenuk's improper analysis caused him to "misapply the law."
"We agree with the Crown that the trial judge piecemealed the evidence by assessing individual pieces of evidence and he subjected the experts' evidence to a standard of proof that exceeded proof beyond a reasonable doubt," reads the decision.
'Massive' brain bleed, other injuries
A publication ban protects the name of the victim, who was injured in March 2018.
Laberge was arrested and charged about nine months after the girl was injured. At that time, she was confined to a wheelchair, did not have full use of the left side of her body and had difficulty with cognition and speech.
She has recovered somewhat and no longer needs a wheelchair.
When the preschooler was brought to hospital, her most concerning injury to doctors was a life-threatening "massive" brain bleed.
She was also suffering bruises and abrasions to her face, chest, hip, stomach, spine, back, groin and genitals.
'I believe the accused,' said trial judge
One child abuse expert testified it was not possible for all of the girl's injuries to have occurred in the course of a "simple fall" because there were multiple impact areas on the child's body.
The doctor testified there was an "extremely high likelihood of inflicted trauma, likely due to repetitive impacts," and said there was no way the child's injuries could have been caused by falling.
But Semenuk rejected the doctor's evidence and said it was for him — not the doctor — to decide whether the victim's trauma was inflicted or accidental.
In testifying in his own defence, Laberge said the girl had fallen in the bathtub. He explained that he initially did not allow the girl's mother to call for help because he did not know the difference between a sleeping and unconscious child.
"[Laberge] truly felt [the girl] was going to wake up any minute," wrote Semenuk in his decision.
At the end of the trial, the judge said, "I believe the accused."
A date for a new trial has not been set.
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