Man in sexsomnia case facing charges involving minors
A Brockville, Ont., man appealing his sexual assault conviction for the third time has been arrested on sexual assault charges involving two underage girls, dating back to 2008.
Ryan Hartman was charged Wednesday with:
Two counts of sexual assault.
Two counts of sexual interference.
Invitation to sexual touching involving someone under 16 years of age.
The offences are alleged to have occurred in the Township of North Grenville, Ont., between 2008 and 2011, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said in a news release issued Thursday.
The OPP investigation began on March 29 when two women came forward. They were 14 and 15 at the time of the alleged offences, OPP said.
On April 4, Hartman was released on bail pending an appeal of his most recent sexual assault conviction.
Appeal pending
Following an initial Ontario Court trial in 2012, an unsuccessful appeal and then a successful appeal, a second trial found Hartman pulled down a woman's pants and anally penetrated her while she was asleep on an air mattress at a house party in Spencerville, Ont., in 2011.
During the second trial, Hartman's defence tried to argue it was a case of "sexsomnia" — that he'd been asleep at the time of the assault and was unaware of what he was doing.
Hartman was found guilty by a judge in November, and then his defence launched a court challenge arguing his right to a timely trial had been violated because the second trial lasted 20 months.
The judge rejected the Jordan application and sentenced Hartman to a year in jail and three years of probation on March 20.
Hartman is appealing both the guilty verdict and the judge's rejection of the Jordan application.
