In a unanimous decision, the B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed a Squamish mechanic’s attempt to overturn his conviction of sexual assault, according to a spokesperson for the BC Prosecution Service.
As a result, Kenneth Edward Dixon was taken into custody and will be serving his sentence of two years in jail and one year of probation.
He was convicted of sexual assault by a judge of the Provincial Court on Dec. 20, 2016, but unsuccessfully tried to overturn that ruling on May 1, 2018. Prior to that, he had been out on bail.
Dixon sought either an acquittal or a new trial amid allegations the judge erred in finding that Dixon’s statement to police was voluntary, and that there had been a “miscarriage of justice,” among other things.
The circumstances that led to the conviction were related to an incident on Nov. 28, 2014, at Dixon’s shop in the Squamish area.
A co-accused, Glen Bird, was also convicted in this case. Bird was found guilty of both sexual assault and administering GHB, which is sometimes known as a date rape drug.
Court documents say Dixon picked up the female who became the complainant in this case after he had replaced Bird’s tires, which had been slashed earlier.
The complainant — whose identity is protected by a publication ban — arrived at the shop “upset, afraid, and wet,” according to a court document which was authored by Justice A. MacKenzie and published last year.
Dixon left to shower and upon his return, Bird told him that the complainant was upstairs waiting for him, MacKenzie said. The assault then occurred.
“The circumstances were violent,” MacKenzie continued in the written copy of her Oral Reasons for Judgment, which were made when assessing Dixon’s suitability for bail last year.
“They involved choking her, and earlier, Mr. Dixon had gone along with Mr. Bird’s administering to the complainant the noxious drug (GHB). Mr. Dixon forced himself upon the complainant despite her repeated attempts to stop him. The complainant left the shop in the morning. She made a police report some hours later.”
The court document also quotes the Crown prosecutor, who said that while Dixon did not administer the GHB, he took advantage of the drug’s debilitating effects.
“Any attenuation or mitigation that could possibly be said to attach to the fact that the applicant did not create the opportunity of which he took advantage is well overborne by his deeply disturbing testimony that [the complainant] consented to the sex and that he suspected the sex was in return for repairing Mr. Bird’s slashed tires,” the document said.
Dixon pleaded not guilty and defended himself on the grounds of mistaken belief in consent. However, a 13-day trial in the Provincial Court ended with a conviction on the count of sexual assault on Dec. 20, 2016.
