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A jury has found Regina chiropractor Ruben Adam Manz guilty of sexual assault against one former patient.
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The jury acquitted Manz of five other counts of sexual assault. A mistrial was declared on a seventh charge of sexual assault after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on that count.
The jury’s decision was returned late Sunday night at Regina’s Court of King’s Bench following deliberations that lasted the better part of three days.
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Manz was charged with seven counts of sexual assault against seven former patients. None can be identified due to a court-ordered publication ban, which is standard in sexual assault cases.
This case involved allegations that Manz touched their breasts during the course of treatment.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied the specific allegations when he testified at trial.
Deliberations began Friday around 1:30 p.m., following lengthy and thorough instructions from Court of King’s Bench Justice Janet McMurtry at the end of a trial that began Nov. 4.
In addition to testimony from complainants and the accused, the trial heard evidence from expert witnesses called by both the Crown and defence. Questions were asked with regard to proper chiropractic treatment, conduct and anatomy as it related to the case.
The judge’s final instructions to jurors came after lengthy closing arguments. In the absence of the jury, the Crown and defence each hotly objected to statements made by the other during closing submissions.
The defence submissions involved the theory that the complainants, who did not come forward until they’d heard news Manz had been charged with sexual assault, were “influenced” by police, which changed their perceptions about what happened during the alleged incidents. The defence’s position was that the way Manz touched the women was in keeping with what would be acceptable in the course of proper chiropractic treatment.
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The Crown refuted this theory and suggested Manz gained access to the women’s bodies through their trust in him as a chiropractor. According to the Crown, he sexually assaulted them under the “guise” of treatment. The Crown suggested women do not mistake sensations and know when their breasts have been groped.
The Crown’s submissions included information on rape myths, and the suggestion that the defence’s argument contained such myths.
McMurtry instructed the jurors about the essential elements of sexual assault, which apply to all counts. In order to find Manz guilty on any count, the Crown must have proved all of the essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt with respect to that count, she’d advised.
Those elements were: Manz touched the respective complainant directly or indirectly; the touching was intentional; the touching took place in “circumstances of a sexual nature”; the respective complainant did not consent to the touch; and, Manz knew the respective complainant did not consent.
A sentencing date was not immediately announced.
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