OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has quashed the conviction of a British Columbia man for molesting three children, ruling that the RCMP “knowingly and deliberately” violated the Charter of Rights during their investigation.
In a 9-0 judgment today, the court ordered a new trial for Dieter Wittwer, 73, described at a Kelowna, B.C., sentencing hearing two years ago as a pedophile who refused to admit the harmfulness of his behaviour.
Evidence before the high court showed that police made three tries before finally obtaining a statement from Wittwer that was later used against him at trial.
Prosecutors told the Mounties that neither of the first two statements would be admissible because they hadn’t properly advised Wittwer of his right to counsel or given him a chance to contact a lawyer.
At a third interview he refused to say anything for the first four hours, but finally spoke out when an RCMP sergeant told him he already knew about the incriminating statements made in the past.
Justice Morris Fish, writing for his unanimous colleagues, left the door open in principle for police to go back and conduct repeated interviews in such circumstances.
He also rejected a defence claim that police had an explicit obligation to tell Wittwer his previous two statements were legally inadmissible. That amounted to “legal advice” tendered to the RCMP by the Crown, said Fish, and interrogators didn’t have to share it with the suspect.
Nevertheless, Fish concluded there was fatal flaw in the way the third interrogation was conducted — the fact that the Mounties prompted Wittwer to talk by referring directly to the past, legally tainted interviews.
“The police knowingly and deliberately made use of an earlier statement that they themselves had obtained from the appellant in a manner that infringed his constitutional rights,” wrote Fish.
