A Surrey man accused of raping his daughter in Redmond, Washington, has lost a court challenge aimed at keeping him from being extradited to stand trial in the United States.
The case was heard in B.C.’s Court of Appeal and the decision was rendered on July 4.
Robert New, also known as Dennis Yaple, sought a judicial review of Canada’s minister of justice’s decision to surrender him to the United States to be tried on four counts of rape, but lost.
On Oct. 15, 2015 a B.C. Supreme Court judge ordered New to be committed into custody to await his surrender to the United States.
New’s counsel argued that the extradition judge erred by failing to find that he was subjected to double jeopardy and unreasonable delay that amounted to abuse of process, by failing to apply a decision arising from another U.S. court case with respect to evidence gathered in Canada and refusing to admit certain evidence New tendered.
New argued the minister ignored his rights under Section 44 of the Extradition Art and Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and erred in failing to order that he be tried in Canada instead.
But appeal court Justice David Tysoe dismissed New’s judicial review application and Justices Mary Newbury and Mary Saunders concurred.
“It has not been shown that the surrender decision was unreasonable,” Tysoe stated in his reasons for judgment. “I would dismiss the judicial review application. I would dismiss each of the appeal from the committal order and the application for judicial review of the minister’s order surrendering Mr. New to the United States to stand trial on the Redmond charges.”
His daughter, identified as J.T., is expected to testify, as is her mother and a Surrey physician who is a member of the Child Abuse and Neglect Team of Surrey Memorial Hospital.
The alleged victim is expected to testify that New started sexually abusing her when she was six years old and they lived in Surrey. After that they lived in Redmond, Washington, then moved to Alberta, back to Surrey, then again to Redmond.
The court heard J.T.’s mother took her to see the Surrey RCMP the same day she told her mom about the alleged abuse.
At the committal hearing, New applied to introduce evidence that charges of sexual assault, sexual touching and invitation to sexual touching against him in Surrey had been stayed because the Crown had determined there was not a substantial likelihood of conviction because “there were potential credibility issues of the complainant and witness regarding those incidents that were alleged to have occurred in Surrey” and that “the complainant’s evidence was unclear regarding the Surrey incidents.”
The minister of justice rejected the double jeopardy argument, however, satisfied that New was not acquitted or convicted in Canada “for the conduct underlying the American offence” for which New’s extradition was sought.
