A new trial surrounding child sexual assault charges against Pemberton man Roger Molinaro began Oct. 15 in Pemberton Provincial Court.
Molinaro was originally found guilty on several charges related to the abuse of minors and was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail in August 2022.
Molinaro successfully appealed the conviction in December and was granted a new trial earlier this year, as previously reported by Pique. (At the time of the appeal, Molinaro was anonymized as "R.M." in court documents. A related publication ban was lifted in April.) His legal team argued on appeal the trial judge’s approach to the evidence was irreparably flawed and enabled guilty verdicts that overlooked serious credibility and reliability concerns regarding the testimony of witnesses.
The defence argued at trial the complainants’ evidence lacked specificity, involved material inconsistencies and claims or descriptions of what occurred that were "implausible," Justice Joyce DeWitt-Van Oosten said in the Dec. 11 decision.
The Court of Appeal ordered the convictions on all counts be set aside, with an acquittal entered on one of them, and a new trial ordered for the rest.
On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Pemberton courtroom heard difficult testimony from one of the key witnesses, much of it a retreading from the original trial, as well as cross-examination by the defence.
Molinaro was arrested in April 2020 after police launched an investigation into allegations of historical child sexual assault. At his original trial in 2021, he was found guilty on several charges related to the abuse of minors. The victims were between the ages of nine and 12 or 13, and six and 12, respectively, in the periods when the alleged conduct was said to have taken place.
Molinaro has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct.
The trial resumes tomorrow, Oct. 16, at 9:30 a.m. in Pemberton. Check back with Pique as it progresses.
