Closing arguments made in sex assault trial of Regina chiropractor

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A jury was presented with vast contrast this week as lawyers sought to frame the facts in a sexual assault case involving a Regina chiropractor.

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Closing arguments in the trial of Ruben Adam Manz concluded in Regina’s Court of King’s Bench on Thursday.

Manz stands accused of seven counts of sexual assault against seven women who were formerly his patients. Dates on the charges run roughly a decade, ending in 2020.

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The chiropractor pleaded not guilty to all charges when the trial began Nov 4.

Arguments began Wednesday afternoon, when defence lawyer Kathy Hodgson-Smith stood at a podium and began what was a lengthy set of submissions which continued into Thursday.

The complainants all testified their breasts were touched by Manz as he was performing what was described as a neck stretch. Manz denied their allegations at trial.

Central to the defence theory is, in the case of each complainant, there was a “pivot” point where they went from uncertainty to certainty with regard to what happened.

“They had to think about it, so they left without saying anything,” explained Hodgson-Smith. “They never went to the police, and they were never going to go to police, because it was for them then just a stretch that left them feeling uncomfortable.”

But all eventually did go to police. Complainants testified they did so when they’d learned Manz was facing charges of sexual assault.

“What binds these seven cases together now is that they are all part of a police investigation that has influenced their evidence, because it has changed their perception of what happened in that office many, many years ago,” the defence lawyer told jurors.

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Crown prosecutor Jackie Lane refuted the defence theory.

“Do you want to live in a world where the police can’t warn women? Can’t keep us safe from sex assault? In a world where a news release is used against complainants who come forward?” Lane asked jurors, telling them parliament and the criminal code recognize society’s interest in encouraging the reporting of sexual offences.

It’s the job of police to investigate alleged crimes and protect the public, she said.

Hodgson-Smith suggested the complainants became a “team” and raised that another woman, who is not an alleged victim at trial, was the “leader” and had been trolling the internet for other complainants.

Court heard that the woman exchanged messages with one of the complainants about a proposed class action lawsuit relating to incidents with Manz. The defence lawyer said there was “money flashing before her eyes.”

“There’s a plan now, to finish Dr. Manz,” Hodgson-Smith said.

Lane told jurors there was no evidence that any of the complainants knew each other or that any were suing Manz.

The Crown prosecutor provided history about past treatment of women in courts, telling jurors that women were once considered unreliable witnesses. She further instructed them about rape myths.

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“Questions like ‘Why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t you leave right away? Why did you go back? How did you not know this was part of the stretch? You thought it was legitimate and you didn’t come forward to report it until much later, or you only complained when others came forward’ — those are all rape myths.”

Such reasoning is prohibited in sex assault cases, she said.

Lane at one point suggested “new rape myths were birthed” during the defence’s argument about the complainant who’d received correspondence regarding a lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Hodgson-Smith characterized her client as a good chiropractor who cared about his clients and whose testimony should be believed, noting that in situations where he had no memory, he had his clinical notes to guide him.

Expert testimony confirmed that medical records showed the treatments provided by Manz to be within an accepted “standard of care,” she said.

The defence lawyer tried to poke holes in the stories of complainants, calling their memories into question and in some cases their honesty.

“You have to correct a wrong,” Hodgson-Smith told jurors, telling them they should find her client not guilty.

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Lane agreed Manz is knowledgeable about his trade. She suggested he “could talk the back leg off a donkey” with regard to his profession. But she said that’s what gives him power.

Lane suggested the trial was not about chiropractic care, the stretch at issue, or medical records. Rather, it was about whether the actions of Manz went well beyond the treatment described, she said.

Chiropractors rely on what patients feel in their bodies in order to assess, diagnose and treat. Yet, Manz is telling jurors to disbelieve what the complainants felt, Lane submitted.

“You’re reasonable people,” she said. “Women don’t mistake sensations in their bodies. We know when our breasts have been groped.”

Lane spent time highlighting how she felt the jury could find that the touches by Manz were intentional. She told jurors that if they accept he touched the women’s breasts in the manner described, then he is guilty of sexual assault.

The lawyers’ arguments were sprawling and contained specific sections about each count, which are not referenced in this article.

Following instructions from the judge, the jury was expected to begin deliberation Friday.

bharder@postmedia.com

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