THUNDER BAY — A judge has dismissed all charges against two Thunder Bay women accused of trafficking a 14-year-old girl 25 years ago, saying the complainant’s evidence was not reliable or credible.
A trial for 64-year-old Dawn Proulx and 44-year-old Helen Charette opened on Wednesday in a Thunder Bay courtroom before Justice Vince Scaramuzza.
The pair were facing charges related to human trafficking including procuring a victim to have illicit sexual intercourse, procuring a victim to become a prostitute, exercising control over the movements of the victim, and counsel victim for sexual purpose to touch another person.
Charette was also facing an additional charge of uttering threats.
Both Proulx and Charette pleaded not guilty to the charges at the start of the trial and the charge of counselling victim for sexual purpose was withdrawn by the Crown on Friday.
The single complainant testified before the court on Wednesday and Thursday, during which she recounted running away from a group home at the age of 14 in November 1998 and then coming into contact with Charette and Proulx.
The complainant said Proulx would arrange ‘dates’ for her as part of her escort agency and she would give all the money paid to her to Proulx.
“I overheard [Proulx] saying that she had a girl. I heard her talking about prices. I can’t recall what those prices were,” the complainant testified. “I recall she would say she would have one ready. I can’t recall the specific details of the conversations. After she would hang up the phone she would get me ready and take me to the car to go on the dates.”
The details of the actual dates have been blocked from her memory, the complainant testified, but added that she has recalled some traumatization over the years.
The complainant also testified that she was intimidated and fearful of Charette and Proulx and felt she was unable to leave.
“I felt intimated, I felt threatened,” the complainant testified in court. “I was in a room in an escort agency with a bunch of older people. I was only 14 years old. I felt I would be physically harmed if I did leave.”
The defence did not call any evidence at trial.
Crown attorney, Rob Kozak, said in his closing submission that the case comes down to the reliability and credibility of the complainant’s testimony.
“It is the Crown’s position that she has provided the court with recollection of her lived experiences,” he said.
“My perception is she appeared to be a candid witness. While there were certain things that took a while to answer, she was not evasive. She was steadfast in her convictions relating to her experiences she is sharing with the court.”
Defense lawyers Kevin Matthews, representing Charette and Amanda Gallo, on behalf of Proulx, while empathizing that the complainant may have experienced trauma and difficulties growing up, raised several concerns relating to her reliability and credibility on the witness stand.
One of the most significant issues raised was the complainant believing she was being trafficked for a period of three to six months. However, evidence showed that the timeframe she may have been in contact with Proulx and Charette was only three to five days.
“Simply put, from our perspective, the evidence presented at this trial is not credible or reliable and should not secure a conviction of any kind,” Matthews said. “The one constant in that story is that the story constantly changes.”
Matthews added that the complainant testified to having shared her story with others for the last 25 years but her story has changed from what she initially told police when she first came forward in 2021 and even during her testimony at trial.
“I can only come to the conclusion that deceit was involved,” Matthews said. “Sadly, the more she talked, the more details emerged, and in my submission, those are the famous last words of a pathological liar.”
Gallo also raised concerns that her identification of Proulx as the woman who allegedly trafficked her came 25 years later and was based on an image someone had shared on social media.
“This identification is tenuous at best. Certainly it doesn’t rise to prove beyond a reasonable doubt and should not be accepted,” Gallo said.
Gallo added that the complainant’s testimony shows that she didn’t know exactly where she was or for how long during that time period.
“She simply can’t remember. I do acknowledge trauma and the passage of time. But this isn’t the type of case where we are talking about someone who is very, very young and limited experience,” Gallo said. “This is a 14-year-old who up to this point had been making decisions for herself under her own terms.”
Scaramuzza agreed with the defence and said in his decision handed down late Friday afternoon that he cannot conclude what is accurate or inaccurate based on the complainant’s testimony in court.
“After considering all the evidence, I do not consider [the complainant] to be a credible witness,” Scaramuzza said. “She testified as an adult to what allegedly occurred when she was 14 years of age. [The complainant’s] reliability is suspect and the court cannot place great weight on her evidence.”
Scaramuzza pointed out that the complainant was unable to provide specific details of where she was taken on ‘dates,’ what occurred while there, or any specific instances of being threatened by either Proulx or Charette.
Her actions during that time, Scaramuzza argued, which included running away from a group home for youth with behavioural issues, demonstrated that she was not one to shy away from challenging others.
"She came across as a youth who could not be told what to do and had a strong-willed personality,” he said. “She was not a meek and mild child. To the contrary. She knew what she was doing and was in full control of herself and her actions.”
Scaramuzza also referred to the inconsistencies in the complainant’s statement to police in spring 2021 and her testimony at court.
“[The complainant] changed or added to her version of events from her first statement to police, her written statement to police, and her testimony in court. She added details. She could not remember significant details,” he said.
“From her testimony I cannot conclude what is accurate, what is inaccurate, or what is [the complainant’s] belief to make findings beyond a reasonable doubt.”
All charges against Proulx and Charette were dismissed by Scaramuzza.
A third accused, Pierre Marier, was also charged in November 2022 as part of the investigation into the allegations. He is proceeding separately and his next court appearance is scheduled for later this month.
Proulx is currently serving a six-month sentence after pleading guilty possession of child pornography in an unrelated matter.
