Crown misconduct led to stayed sexual assault charges against Alberta spiritual leader and wife, court hears

Open court learned today that stayed sexual assault charges against a well-known Edmonton-area spiritual leader and his wife were the result of Crown misconduct.

Johannes (John) de Ruiter and his wife, Leigh Ann, each faced six counts of sexual assault and were set to go to trial in September.

On Friday, defence lawyers Dino Bottos and Zachary Al-Khatib asked Court of King’s Bench Justice Avril Inglis to clarify a publication ban that would allow them to speak about the Crown’s handling of the case. 

“The Crown conduct in this case rendered the entire trial incapable of proceeding, as the Crown acknowledged. And that's because when there is Crown interference with evidence, we can't trust the evidence anymore,” said Al-Khatib, who’s representing Leigh Ann.

Defence lawyers said the Crown’s theory of the case was that complainants were psychologically manipulated by the couple into consenting to sex. They also sought to establish that John de Ruiter was the leader of a cult.

Two Crown attorneys — Domina Hussain, the lead, and Aisling Ryan — were assigned to the case for several years.

To support their arguments, they retained two expert witnesses: one to testify that the College of Integrated Philosophy — also known as the Oasis Group — could be characterized as a cult, and another, a forensic psychologist, to speak to alleged psychological manipulation.

Earlier this year, during proceedings to qualify those experts for trial, it was revealed that the Crown had gone beyond receiving independent opinions and, instead, shaped the experts’ conclusions to align with the Crown’s theory.

On Friday, defence lawyers told the court — and the Crown agreed — that the prosecutors made significant edits to expert reports. In one instance, a forensic psychologist acknowledged that language in the report was not his own.

“We have a senior Crown prosecutor dealing with a seasoned professional forensic psychologist, and getting him to change his opinion in a way that went to the very heart of the Crown's theory of the case,” said Bottos, John de Ruiter’s lawyer.

Edits were also made to the report of the expert expected to testify about cult dynamics. Those changes were not redlined or clearly disclosed, raising concerns the witness may not have been fully aware of them.

The defence argues this amounted to the Crown modifying evidence without the expert’s knowledge.

Following these developments, the Chief Crown prosecutor reassigned the file. New prosecutors reviewed the case in recent weeks, before they entered a stay of proceedings.

“This is conduct that should never occur. The fact that it has occurred in this case means that we should be concerned it has occurred in other cases, or is occurring in other cases. This is a matter of significant public interest,” Al-Khatib said.

Bottos, who has been practising law for more than 35 years, said he has never seen actions like this during his career.

“It's very troubling,” he said.

The defence lawyers say they plan to file complaints with professional oversight bodies, which could lead to public disciplinary proceedings. The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service has also launched an internal review.

The Opposition NDP were unable to comment.

The defence is also seeking to recover legal costs dating back to September — expenses that would, ultimately, be borne by taxpayers.

“The court doesn't order costs unless there's been serious Crown misconduct. The point of giving costs is to demonstrate to the public that this should not happen and to cause the Crown to not do it again,” Al-Khatib said.

CBC News reached out to Alberta’s justice minister for comment but was referred to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, which said in a statement it cannot provide more information on decisions relating to the conduct

“The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service is not permitted to discuss human resource matters, including any employment-related actions or decisions,” the statement reads.