Wilbur Dedam trial hears closing arguments
Credibility and conspiracy were talked about Tuesday by lawyers in the closing arguments in the sex-crime trial of former Esgenoôpetitj First Nation chief Wilbur Dedam.
The 64-year-old is accused by three women of sexually abusing them when they were young girls between 1977-85.
The six sex-related charges were filed against Dedam in the months leading up to the 2014 elections in Esgenoôpetitj, with Dedam looking to make a political comeback in the community.
In his closing argument, defence lawyer T.J. Burke pointed to that being the reason for one woman's accusation against Dedam.
"It was driven by a motive to keep him from being chief," said Burke, noting that Dedam wouldn't give the woman his support in the 2014 council election.
When Dedam didn't support her politically, Burke said the revelation that Dedam had sexually assaulted her came to light.
"She pushed the fear button," said Burke.
Burke also challenged the first accuser's testimony Dedam sexually assaulted her outside his wife's bedroom door.
"Taking the risk his wife would come out and witness this," said Burke.
"Would he do this? Why would he do this? And moreover, why would he do this in an area with such high traffic?"
The second woman said she was assaulted in Dedam's van, but Burke challenged whether it was by Dedam or another man.
"No reasonable juror can convict a man of sexually assaulting a woman based on a silhouette and a voice," said Burke, noting there were plenty of other men in the van on the night in question.
"I don't doubt it happened to her, but what I do doubt is that Wilbur Dedam did it to her," said Burke.
The third accuser was young and traumatized when she approached Dedam and recalls him saying he wanted to make love to her. Burke questioned whether she really heard Dedam say that, noting Dedam's first language is Mi'kmaq and not English.
The RCMP questioned Dedam in 1984, but nothing ever came of it, said Burke.
"You now have sufficient reasonable doubt to acquit Mr. Dedam of all the charges," he told the jury.
Crown closing
Crown prosecutor Melanie MacAulay told the six men and six women on the jury to use their common sense, reasoning and everyday experiences "to decide what's the real deal here."
MacAulay noted the first woman has very specific details about being sexually assaulted.
"It's the memories you would expect somebody to have if it really happened to you," she said.
"Think of some of the details she gave here. You can't make that up."
MacAulay also told the jury to assess the credibility of the witnesses, noting that Dedam frequently responded to allegations in his testimony by saying 'that's not true.'
"There's seeming to be quite a lot of confusion in Irene Dedam's testimony over a simple thing like playing bingo."
The Crown said the second woman was well-acquainted with Dedam by the time she was 16 and knew his voice, mannerisms and touch.
"She said she called out for [her boyfriend] and the person on top of her said, 'It's me, Wilbur.'"
MacAulay said the third woman "gave lots of details."
"These young children clearly had trauma," said MacAulay. "But it wasn't trauma to the point their memory is blocked."
In describing the three women, MacAulay said "There's nothing for these women to gain from coming here today in terms of benefits or anything else."
"They're not here for any other reason than to take that weight that's been on them for so many years and put it where it belongs, on the shoulders of the accused."
Justice Tracey DeWare will give her instructions to the jury of six men and six women on Wednesday at 1 p.m., after which they will be sequestered to deliberate their verdict.
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