Teen girls weep as judge dismisses sexual assault charges from wave pool incident
A man accused of sexual assault hugged his wife after learning his charges were dismissed Friday. Meanwhile, a group of teenage girls and their supporters left the courtroom in tears.
Soleiman Hajj Soleiman was arrested in February 2017 after several teenagers reported being touched by a man in the West Edmonton Mall water park. He was acquitted of all charges against him — six counts of sexual assault and six counts of sexual contact with a child — in a provincial court ruling Friday morning.
Justice Joyce Lester said that while something did happen at the mall’s wave pool, there was not enough reliable evidence to convict Soleiman.
The witnesses, who were ages 13 to 15 at the time of the event, gave varying descriptions of the man’s head and facial hair, skin colour and age during the trial. One said he wore blue goggles, while another said he wore rainbow goggles in a zebra pattern.
The girls also discussed what happened at the pool a number of times afterward, which Lester said could possibly shift and cross-contaminate their ideas of what happened.
When the trial began earlier this year, court heard testimony from some of the teen complainants.
Pool security footage wasn’t clear enough to identify whoever might have groped the girls, the judge said.
Lester believed a photo lineup should have been used in the investigation to identify the assailant, but this did not happen — a detective had said identification was not an issue.
“(The detective’s) statement of complacency has no place in a criminal investigation,” Lester said as she delivered her decision.
At least two of the girls in the courtroom cried and left with their mothers when the ruling was given.
During the hearing, the teen witnesses were supported by a therapy dog from the Zebra Child Protection Centre.
Crown prosecutor Laurie Trahan said she understood the ruling, but was disappointed the girls’s discussions about what happened in the pool was ruled to be contaminated evidence.
“It’s regrettable that the logical, rational response to being sexually assaulted is not something that the court appreciates,” she said. “It’s not at all unusual for a woman or girl who gets sexually assaulted to talk to her friends.”
Trahan said it’s too early to determine whether she will appeal.
Soleiman, his wife and six children were sponsored by a group of 30 people to come to Canada from Syria two years ago. One sponsor, Dave Trautman, said the family was nervous and not happy during the trial.
“I’ve been telling him Canada has a good system, the judge can be trusted, and the court system will be fair,” Trautman said.
None of the family’s sponsors withdrew their support throughout the trial, Trautman said.
On the evening of Feb. 4, 2017, 16 girls from a soccer team were attending a birthday party at the pool, court heard. One of the complainants, then 14, testified she was in the wave pool when she heard other girls saying someone was touching them. She told court that as a wave hit, a man swam up under her and touched her breast and buttocks.
https://edmontonsun.com/news/crime/...ults/wcm/bea19ee5-5547-4d23-bcc9-ca76a6235454
A man accused of sexual assault hugged his wife after learning his charges were dismissed Friday. Meanwhile, a group of teenage girls and their supporters left the courtroom in tears.
Soleiman Hajj Soleiman was arrested in February 2017 after several teenagers reported being touched by a man in the West Edmonton Mall water park. He was acquitted of all charges against him — six counts of sexual assault and six counts of sexual contact with a child — in a provincial court ruling Friday morning.
Justice Joyce Lester said that while something did happen at the mall’s wave pool, there was not enough reliable evidence to convict Soleiman.
The witnesses, who were ages 13 to 15 at the time of the event, gave varying descriptions of the man’s head and facial hair, skin colour and age during the trial. One said he wore blue goggles, while another said he wore rainbow goggles in a zebra pattern.
The girls also discussed what happened at the pool a number of times afterward, which Lester said could possibly shift and cross-contaminate their ideas of what happened.
When the trial began earlier this year, court heard testimony from some of the teen complainants.
Pool security footage wasn’t clear enough to identify whoever might have groped the girls, the judge said.
Lester believed a photo lineup should have been used in the investigation to identify the assailant, but this did not happen — a detective had said identification was not an issue.
“(The detective’s) statement of complacency has no place in a criminal investigation,” Lester said as she delivered her decision.
At least two of the girls in the courtroom cried and left with their mothers when the ruling was given.
During the hearing, the teen witnesses were supported by a therapy dog from the Zebra Child Protection Centre.
Crown prosecutor Laurie Trahan said she understood the ruling, but was disappointed the girls’s discussions about what happened in the pool was ruled to be contaminated evidence.
“It’s regrettable that the logical, rational response to being sexually assaulted is not something that the court appreciates,” she said. “It’s not at all unusual for a woman or girl who gets sexually assaulted to talk to her friends.”
Trahan said it’s too early to determine whether she will appeal.
Soleiman, his wife and six children were sponsored by a group of 30 people to come to Canada from Syria two years ago. One sponsor, Dave Trautman, said the family was nervous and not happy during the trial.
“I’ve been telling him Canada has a good system, the judge can be trusted, and the court system will be fair,” Trautman said.
None of the family’s sponsors withdrew their support throughout the trial, Trautman said.
On the evening of Feb. 4, 2017, 16 girls from a soccer team were attending a birthday party at the pool, court heard. One of the complainants, then 14, testified she was in the wave pool when she heard other girls saying someone was touching them. She told court that as a wave hit, a man swam up under her and touched her breast and buttocks.
https://edmontonsun.com/news/crime/...ults/wcm/bea19ee5-5547-4d23-bcc9-ca76a6235454
Edmonton refugee group standing by man accused in water park assaults
An Edmonton refugee support group is standing by the man accused of sexually assaulting teenage girls inside the West Edmonton Mall water park.
Soleiman Hajj Soleiman, 40, is on trial in Edmonton provincial court this week for six counts of sexual assault and six counts of sexual contact with a child.
"We all want to support him and are surprised to hear he is accused of this," said Dave Trautman from the River City Refugee Project.
The group, which Trautman said has about 30 members, sponsored Soleiman, his wife and their six children to come to Canada from Syria in January 2016.
He said the Soleiman family lived in a refugee camp for about four years before arriving in Canada.
'It feels bad'
The refugee group's support for Soleiman continues in spite of the troubling accusations against him, Trautman said.
"I'm not really focused on what he's accused of," he said outside court on Wednesday. "I want to show him that he has a community."
Three teenage girls testified this week they were inappropriately touched or grabbed from behind by a man in the wave pool on Feb. 4, 2017.
They gave evidence from behind a screen in court with Soleiman on the other side.
When the teens were asked to come out from behind the specially concealed area to see if they recognized the man responsible, each pointed directly at Soleiman.
'We all trust the system'
"When I'm seeing this stuff, it feels bad," Trautman said, adding that it has been an emotional few days hearing the young girls recount their experience.
"You can't hear a child describe things that happened to them without feeling," Trautman said. "I have a child and I've been in wave pools and if it happened to my kid, it would be similar pain."
Soleiman's defence lawyer has raised the possibility with the complainants that they misidentified his client.
Trautman and his group share that concern. He said their biggest question is whether the young victims singled out the right person in a crowded wave pool and whether security followed the same person to the change rooms.
The Crown agrees this a key issue in the trial but is confident with the evidence.
Trautman said he has avoided asking Soleiman what really happened that night so as not to influence anything
"We all trust the system," he said.
Group's support may change depending on verdict
Trautman, 63, said he has been impressed with the way the facts and evidence have been presented in court.
"It's really hard to listen to, of course, because it's something that happened to people that shouldn't," Trautman said.
No one from his group has changed their support for the accused or felt let down about his current predicament, but that could change, Trautman said.
"We're all waiting to find out what the facts are," he said. "We might have to change some things but we will let the judge decide that."
The trial is taking longer than first expected and will continue into next week.
That's because everything said in court has to be translated into Arabic.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmo...g-by-man-accused-water-park-assault-1.4502539
An Edmonton refugee support group is standing by the man accused of sexually assaulting teenage girls inside the West Edmonton Mall water park.
Soleiman Hajj Soleiman, 40, is on trial in Edmonton provincial court this week for six counts of sexual assault and six counts of sexual contact with a child.
"We all want to support him and are surprised to hear he is accused of this," said Dave Trautman from the River City Refugee Project.
The group, which Trautman said has about 30 members, sponsored Soleiman, his wife and their six children to come to Canada from Syria in January 2016.
He said the Soleiman family lived in a refugee camp for about four years before arriving in Canada.
'It feels bad'
The refugee group's support for Soleiman continues in spite of the troubling accusations against him, Trautman said.
"I'm not really focused on what he's accused of," he said outside court on Wednesday. "I want to show him that he has a community."
Three teenage girls testified this week they were inappropriately touched or grabbed from behind by a man in the wave pool on Feb. 4, 2017.
They gave evidence from behind a screen in court with Soleiman on the other side.
When the teens were asked to come out from behind the specially concealed area to see if they recognized the man responsible, each pointed directly at Soleiman.
'We all trust the system'
"When I'm seeing this stuff, it feels bad," Trautman said, adding that it has been an emotional few days hearing the young girls recount their experience.
"You can't hear a child describe things that happened to them without feeling," Trautman said. "I have a child and I've been in wave pools and if it happened to my kid, it would be similar pain."
Soleiman's defence lawyer has raised the possibility with the complainants that they misidentified his client.
Trautman and his group share that concern. He said their biggest question is whether the young victims singled out the right person in a crowded wave pool and whether security followed the same person to the change rooms.
The Crown agrees this a key issue in the trial but is confident with the evidence.
Trautman said he has avoided asking Soleiman what really happened that night so as not to influence anything
"We all trust the system," he said.
Group's support may change depending on verdict
Trautman, 63, said he has been impressed with the way the facts and evidence have been presented in court.
"It's really hard to listen to, of course, because it's something that happened to people that shouldn't," Trautman said.
No one from his group has changed their support for the accused or felt let down about his current predicament, but that could change, Trautman said.
"We're all waiting to find out what the facts are," he said. "We might have to change some things but we will let the judge decide that."
The trial is taking longer than first expected and will continue into next week.
That's because everything said in court has to be translated into Arabic.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmo...g-by-man-accused-water-park-assault-1.4502539
