Basketball Coach Acquitted of Sexual Abuse Charges, but Judge Expresses Doubts About Innocence
Basketball Coach Acquitted of Sexual Abuse Charges
Calgary basketball coach Sean Maheu has been acquitted of four sex-related charges involving allegations he abused a 15-year-old player. Provincial court Judge Barry Nordin made it clear he wasn’t convinced of the accused’s innocence. “It’s not because I believe your denials. I don’t,” Nordin told the Calgary man. “But rather, because I must look at the evidence as a whole. Discrepancies and inconsistencies (in the complainant’s evidence) leave me with a reasonable doubt.”
Despite the acquittal, Judge Nordin did express concerns about the credibility of the accused's denials, suggesting that the coach and the victim were much closer than he claimed. However, the judge noted that there were inconsistencies and discrepancies in the complainant's testimony that raised enough doubt to acquit the coach. The prosecutor, Rose Greenwood, argued that there were reasons to not believe the coach's denials, but defence counsel, Matt Deshaye, questioned the accuracy of the witness's testimony, noting that he admitted to consuming drugs on a daily basis from his playing days to when he spoke to the police. The coach still faces an outstanding charge of sexually assaulting a teen at a group home, with that trial set for March.