Sex-assault case collapses after Edmonton police take 8 years to execute arrest warrant

Warning: This story contains graphic language that may disturb some readers.

A young Edmonton mother waited more than a decade to face her alleged rapist in court.

She'll never get that chance.

The case against Chris Hogan collapsed last month because after he was charged in December 2010 with sexual assault and unlawful sexual touching, it took Edmonton police almost eight years to execute an arrest warrant.

A Supreme Court decision called Jordan sets time limits to ensure an accused's right to a timely trial. In Alberta provincial court, the ceiling is 18 months, while in the Court of Queen's Bench, it is 30 months.

Had the Hogan case gone to trial, it would have been 120 months — 10 years — from the time he was charged until the conclusion of the case, due primarily to inaction by the police.

"They completely failed me," Julie told CBC News.

Now 26, she was 15 at the time she says she was assaulted.

In a statement, the Crown said staying the "very serious charges" was a difficult decision.

"The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service is extremely sympathetic to the complainant and is acutely aware of the potential impact of this stay," the statement said.

• 'I wasn't given any justice': Sexual assault charge stayed over trial delay
• Edmonton teen sex assault case collapses due to 'unreasonable delay'

Julie is not the woman's real name. Her identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

Court records show that Hogan was charged with sexually assaulting Julie and unlawfully touching her for a sexual purpose. Both offences were on or about July 13, 2009, according to the records.

Julie recounted her version of events for CBC. None of her allegations have been proven in court.

She said that on July 12, 2009, she and her family went to Hogan's northeast Edmonton house for a barbecue. She said Hogan, who was 35, was her father's boss at a truck-repair business.

Julie said she was very tired and fell asleep in a spare bedroom. She said her parents let her sleep overnight rather than try to wake her when they left.

She said she was confused when she woke up the next morning in Hogan's house.

She said when Hogan returned from a doctor's appointment around 11 a.m., she asked to be driven home, but he refused. Instead, he began to drink beer, she said.

"I was extremely creeped out," Julie recalled. "He was like, 'Let me try something.' And he pulled me on top of him and started kissing me."

She said she felt powerless, like a rag doll.

"He took me to the bedroom and he told me to take off all my clothes," Julie said. "I was lifeless. I don't even know what to do. I never had any sexual experience. 

"He told me to get in the shower and clean myself up," she said. "I just remember a bloody trail." 

'Our little secret' 

Julie said that after she got dressed, Hogan drove her to his workplace where her parents were waiting. 

On the way, she said, he warned her not to tell anyone what happened. 

"It would be our little secret," she said he told her. "If I enjoyed it, it could happen again and he loved me and would take care of me."

Julie said he held her hand while she stared out the passenger window to avoid looking at him. 

"I didn't know what to do," she said. "How do I tell my mom that just happened with my dad's boss? He's going to lose his job and then what? My mom was a stay at home mom my entire life." 

Julie kept quiet. But she put the clothes she was wearing into a plastic bag and hid the bag in her closet, she said. The next day she shared the secret with her girlfriend, who in turn alerted Julie's parents, she said.

Her father confronted her about the allegations, she said.

"My dad thought I was lying," she said. "I endured a three-hour lecture from my dad about how he would not be able to support the family and he would be out of a job and that's not something you lie about." 

She said she finally got up the courage to tell her father she was no longer a virgin. That was the turning point. 

"He rushed me up the stairs and woke up my mom and told her too," she said.

It was after midnight, but her parents took her to the hospital, she said. Police were called and a sexual assault forensic exam was completed. Her clothing was sent for DNA testing.

Julie said her father quit his job because he felt he could no longer work in the two-person shop with the man who had allegedly sexually assaulted his daughter.

He went on unemployment, she said.

The family was shattered. 

"It completely changed everything," Julie said. "I was just angry and mad. And depressed." 

Warrant executed after New Brunswick traffic stop 

Alberta Justice confirmed sexual assault and unlawful sexual touching charges were laid against Chris Hogan in December 2010. An arrest warrant was issued. 

But Hogan was no longer in Edmonton. The warrant was not executed. 

In 2017, Julie learned Hogan was married and living in a small town in New Brunswick. He had posted photos on his Facebook account under his own name. It didn't appear he was trying to hide.

Julie said her mother called Edmonton Police Service Det. Arlene Hove to share detailed information about Hogan's whereabouts. She provided Facebook screenshots.

"She said that she would do everything to get him," Julie recalled. "Arlene Hove told my mom they would get the warrant extended and they would go and pick him up and nothing ended up happening."

Nobody has taken the blame.- Julie

Edmonton police confirm the Alberta warrant was finally executed in June 2018 when Hogan was pulled over by New Brunswick RCMP in a routine traffic stop.

"Nine years and the only guy who did his job was an RCMP officer," Julie said. "But nobody has taken the blame. I don't understand how nobody found him." 

Trial postponed, then charges stayed

The wheels of justice began to grind slowly. The Crown decided to skip a preliminary hearing and proceed by direct indictment. A trial date was set for February 2020.

But last December, the Crown told Julie that due to a scheduling difficulty, the trial would be postponed until December 2020.

Alberta Justice confirms Hogan's lawyer, Stephen Brophy, made the request to delay the trial. 

On Sept. 2, Brophy filed a charter application, arguing that Hogan's rights had been violated by the excessive delay in taking the case to trial after the original charges were laid in 2010. 

The Crown agreed to stay the charges.

 "I never in a million years thought he would do what he did to me. And I never in a million years thought he would end up getting away with it," Julie said.

The sexual assault allegations made by Julie were shared with Hogan's lawyer.

In an emailed reply, Brophy wrote, "Thank [you] for sharing this information. We have no comment."

Since the Supreme Court ruling in October 2016, a total of 289 Jordan applications have been filed with Alberta courts. Of those applications, 10 are waiting to be heard and 32 have been judicially stayed. All pending applications and 18 of those already granted involve serious and violent offences.

In its statement to CBC, the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service said a prosecution doesn't continue unless the evidence establishes a reasonable likelihood of conviction.

"In this matter, there is evidence of delay in execution of the warrant that would not survive judicial scrutiny based on the principles in R. v. Jordan," the statement said.

"On this basis, the difficult decision was made to stay these very serious charges. This decision was not taken lightly and was made in consultation with other Crown prosecutors."

An Alberta Justice spokesperson said in an email to CBC that the prosecution "needs to show that the police acted with 'reasonable diligence' when trying to execute the warrant."

'It can be extremely devastating for the victim'

Edmonton police haven't explained why it took them eight years to execute a warrant, but a spokesperson acknowledged the toll it has taken on Julie.

"Any time a person is victimized and the perpetrator is not held accountable, it can be extremely devastating for the victim," EPS spokesperson Cheryl Sheppard wrote.

"We understand the Crown's reasons for staying the charges in this case, in light of R. v. Jordan, and acknowledge the disappointment the complainant must feel with the overall outcome."

The case is "absolutely horrifying," said Mary Jane James, head of the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton.

"The fact that this person had to endure a decade of uncertainty… only to receive no justice or resolution in the end, is absolutely devastating," James said.

Now Julie is trying to pick up the pieces.

"The fact that I could never stand in court and tell him what he did to me just breaks my heart," she said. "I don't trust police officers because everybody told me they were going to get him."