Judge convicts ex-Woodstock mayor of sexual assault

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At the end of the judge’s lengthy decision, the disgraced former mayor of Woodstock appeared to be in shock.

Trevor Birtch, 49, the two-term mayor of Woodstock until his defeat in 2022, was found guilty Thursday of one count of assault and and one count of sexual assault of a former girlfriend in 2021 while he was still mayor and carried on what could only be described as a turbulent relationship that led to the charges.

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At the heart of the case, Superior Court Justice Michael Carnegie said, was credibility and, in the eyes of the judge, Birtch didn’t have much.

“Overall, I found the defendant’s evidentiary agenda clouded any prospect of sincerity and his inconsistent accounts in testimony corroded my capacity to accept any of his evidence, frankly, at all,” the judge said about Birtch’s testimony at his four-day trial in May.

Carnegie referred to Birtch’s “overtly and unreasonable partisanship” during his testimony, in which he portrayed his victim as a jealous, obsessive, manipulative partner and “a woman scorned.” He referred to himself as a victim of what he said were her violent outbursts but reluctantly admitted he was seeing other women while seeing her.

He described Birtch as “arrogant and argumentative,” particularly during cross-examination by assistant Crown attorney Artem Orlov.

The two guilty verdicts related to two incidents when Birtch, who separated from him wife in 2019, was involved with the 45-year-old woman whose identity is protected by court order.

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The sexual assault occurred while the pair was staying at a London hotel for what was supposed to be a romantic Valentine’s Day in 2021. When the victim refused to perform a certain sex act, Birtch demanded it and tried for force her.

The assault conviction related to a summertime country drive and beach day when the victim was pushed out Birtch’s car and left with bruises and abrasions after she refused to participate in sexual activity along a rural road.

Birtch was acquitted of one sexual assault charge stemming from an incident in December 2021 in his bedroom at the end of the relationship. Carnegie noted there was a missing message in a text exchange before the woman went to Birtch’s house and some compelling evidence from Birtch’s son, who testified he heard his father order the woman out of his bedroom before the son escorted her out.

But, for the most part, Carnegie found the victim’s evidence to be forthright and candid. Any inconsistencies were minor and she was willing to give a detailed and believable account.

“I find (she), by and large, was an impressive witness. She modelled sincerity and candour throughout her evidence while she largely engaged us into her internal monologue about not only what happened but about her concerns about why,” Carnegie said.

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“I found her largely to be a credible witness and a reliable historian.”

But Carnegie repeated what he said at the end of the trial. Missing from the evidence presented were cellphone records, medical reports or any other eye witnesses to the violence each said happened while they were together.

That meant the case came down to he-said she-said accounts. But his analysis of each piece of evidence pointed to Birtch downplaying his part to the point it defied believability.

A pre-sentence report was requested by defence lawyer James Battin. A sentencing date won’t be selected until the next Superior Court scheduling hearing on Sept. 10.

Meanwhile, Birtch has another sexual assault trial in London beginning Sept. 3. He has a third trial in Woodstock in October on charges of impaired driving and dangerous driving stemming form a crash in Oxford County.

jsims@postmedia.com

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