CALGARY - A man accused of torturing a one-time roommate and business partner was found guilty Monday of assaulting a former employee who testified at his trial.
Queen's Bench Justice Sheilah Martin said she believed Dustin Paxton uttered threats and used a dog leash to whip worker Abraham Chutta.
"I accept that these incidents happened," Martin said. "I can't rely on Mr. Paxton's denials."
The judge made the ruling in the lead-up to her verdict on more serious charges, including aggravated and sexual assault, against Paxton involving a man he shared a home with in Calgary.
The judge earlier denied the defence a stay of proceedings. Paxton's lawyer had argued that the case against his client should be thrown out because evidence showed a police officer coaching a witness.
But Martin said that "almost all of the defence claims are not made out in the facts."
Chutta was one of the major witnesses supporting allegations that Paxton assaulted the roommate.
"I find Mr. Chutta to be a truthful and credible witness," Martin said.
Chutta testified that he also lived with the accused and helped him and the alleged victim set up their business. Chutta said Paxton would often fly into a rage over very small things.
Chutta said he had no idea when he first moved in how violent Paxton could be.
Paxton, who is 34, was charged in August 2010 — four months after a man he had shared a place with in Calgary was dropped off near death at a Regina hospital.
His trial began last Sept. 27 and moved at an agonizingly slow pace. The Crown called 43 witnesses in the proceedings, which took 4 1/2 months.
The 28-year-old alleged victim, whose name is under a court-ordered publication ban, testified that he was starved, humiliated and beaten — sometimes severely — on an almost daily basis and forced to perform sexual favours for Paxton.
He testified that he took the abuse because he didn't want to appear to be "a sissy" and had dreams of making big money in Calgary through the business he and Paxton started.
He said he suffered severe facial trauma and had all of his ribs broken in a beating with a two-by-four.
The defence argued that the alleged victim was not tied up or locked in his room and could have left at any time.
The Crown brought in Kris Mohandie, a U.S.-based human captivity expert, who told court that the man reacted to the almost daily beatings like an abused pet or battered spouse would and couldn't flee the relationship.
The judicial stay of proceedings requested by defence lawyer Jim Lutz was one reason for the drawn-out affair. The application didn't come until after final arguments by Lutz and prosecutor Joe Mercier.
Lutz said in his application that his client hadn't received a fair trial because there was evidence that showed police coaching a witness who was called to testify against the accused.
The application resulted in a fresh set of lawyers brought in to argue for and against the stay, which, if granted, will allow Paxton to walk free.
Both Lutz and Mercier found themselves in the unusual position of being called as witnesses. The defence lawyer testified that two different spectators approached him to report that they had seen a senior Calgary police officer coaching a witness from the gallery and that a court clerk reported seeing the same thing.
Lutz also testified that he had asked that a key witness who had an outstanding warrant be arrested, but the court's sheriff was told by the Crown not to make the arrest.
© The Canadian Press, 2012