Former Sechelt RCMP officer and football coach Gary Rudi Groenke was acquitted in Vancouver Supreme Court on June 17 of all charges of gross indecency and sexual assault of a young boy.
Madam Justice Mary Ellen Boyd declared neither the accused nor alleged victim were credible witnesses, and based on the factual evidence alone, she could not say beyond a reasonable doubt Groenke sexually assaulted the unnamed alleged victim.
"I am nevertheless not satisfied that on the whole of the evidence, the Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused has committed the offences," Boyd told the courtroom. "I acquit him on both counts."
Groenke, 51, was accused of sexually assaulting the then young boy three separate times during his placement as an RCMP officer in Sechelt in the mid-to-late '80s.
A publication ban prohibits any mention of the alleged victim's identity.
Boyd reached her conclusion after spending nearly a month reviewing both the closing arguments, as well as her own notes, presented by Crown counsel Marion West and defence counsel Patrick Doherty on May 18.
In her statement to the court prior to her judgment, she said she saw the alleged victim as honest and sincere, but an ultimately troubled person, and therefore could not take him as a credible witness.
She pointed to the same inconsistencies between his testimony, pretrial hearings and original statements to police that Doherty noted during Groenke's defence and closing argument.
Despite West's reasoning on May 18 where she said the alleged victim had trouble remembering since it's been a 20-year time lapse since the alleged incidents and trial, and he spent a lot of his time trying to forget and move on, Boyd wouldn't take his testimony.
"While that is not surprising, what is troubling is how his memory has changed over time," Boyd said. "His memory has undergone an admitted evolution. He also struck me as a fairly troubled young man."
The second alleged victim testified during the trial against Groenke as well, but Boyd said although he was an intelligent man, due to the extent of the relationship, where contact went on for years, she determined there were questions of his credibility as well.
However, she didn't take Groenke as a credible witness either.
She said Groenke frequently attempted to "downplay his relationship" with the boys; at one point he called them "mere acquaintances."
Boyd said the young man was on his football team and there were phone records of Groenke calling him at home for years. He also admitted at trial he took the boy on ride-alongs, gave him alcohol and let him fire his revolver.
"In both cases the relationships went far beyond that of a mere acquaintance," Boyd said.
Groenke gave no visible reaction to the judgment and quickly left the courtroom with defence counsel Doherty.
West told Coast Reporter following the judgment she wouldn't be appealing the decision, since there was "no mistake in law."
In an interview with Coast Reporter June 21, West said Crown would not be proceeding with a second trial, which was supposed to be scheduled during a court appearance on June 22.
"After reviewing the evidence, Crown believes that there is not a substantial likelihood of a conviction, so therefore, we will be directing a stay of proceedings on the other matter," West said.
In February, Boyd ruled that three separate trials would be held to hear all the charges against Groenke. The Crown stayed proceedings in the third trial last month.
Groenke was also acquitted in February 2008 in a Victoria courtroom of similar sex offences against minors.
-With a file from Ian Jacques
