TruthBeTold.ca

Originally from Ottawa, Ontario, as a kid I played minor hockey, I spent some time in amateur boxing and played drums in various rock bands.  After working in the restaurant business, and the car business, I slowly went north and ended up in northwestern Ontario in 1990.  Having spent 24 years there, I moved to Nova Scotia.  There I met a great woman (I’m calling her Nancy to protect her identity) and she and I built a home together not far from Bridgewater.  This home was on 70 acres of off grid land.  We had our own solar power, chickens, trout in the brook behind the house, deer everywhere, my duck blind was only 400 yards from our front door and we had a yellow lab named Macy… it was a fantastic place to live.

The main reason I moved to Nova Scotia was to be close to Halifax, which has been for years a great hub for television and film production.  I had already spent about 10 years in the TV business with a comedy based fishing and hunting show called Officially Rugged with RD.  That series was produced for eight seasons and was seen across North America and in parts of Europe.  I wanted to branch out and after taking a shot at landing a series on the Food Network, I ended up writing a scripted comedy drama.  And, I figured one of the best places to land a production deal was Halifax.  After working in various restaurants as a chef and starting a bus company, I wanted to go into the TV business full blast.

So, in 2014, I sold my off grid home and my 160 acres near Thunder Bay, packed up all my stuff and moved to Nova Scotia.

Soon after building our house, Nancy and I opened a restaurant in Bridgewater.  That’s when everything was fantastic, then in one single minute, it wasn’t.

 

In 2017, my common law spouse (for the sake of her privacy, I’ll call her Nancy) and I opened up a food truck in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, called “The Best Little Oarhouse in Nova Scotia,” which is obviously a take-off of the comedy film “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”  I’ve never watched the film, but I know it was a big hit starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds.

After one summer with the food truck, it was obvious we needed to move into a full service restaurant.  Mainly serving fish & chips and burgers, we were overwhelmed with huge line ups, so much so that we just couldn’t keep up, sometimes running out of food.  So, the following February we opened up a year round, full service restaurant using the same name.  The place was very small with only about 20 seats and a small open kitchen and food prep area.  We normally would have 3 – 6 people on staff at any time.

In late June of 2018, I hired a woman to work as a food server. It was never easy to find good people… today’s workforce just isn’t what it once was.  To be blunt, we weren’t looking for someone who could perform surgeries, manage a budget of 20 million dollars or find a cure for cancer.  We were looking for someone who could be polite to the customers, take their food orders and bring them their food.  So, I hired a woman in her 30s who I will refer to as #1. And, she actually did a decent job overall considering she had no prior experience.  One thing I found odd however, was her moods would swing up and down… and this would happen very quickly.  And, when she was in the “up” mood, she laughed at just about anything, even things that weren’t even slightly funny.  I actually thought that maybe she was using drugs or something… but, these days, you’re almost afraid to ask.  After three weeks, I told her that things were going well, but there were a few minor details to address and sometime in the next week or so we’d sit down privately and go over them.  So, all was good… so I thought.

It was a Monday and as usual lunch rush was packed.  People were waiting for a seat, some elected to opt for take out.  #1 and I were both serving and there were three cooks working on the line.  At one point, #1 and I were standing shoulder to shoulder at what was called the coffee station.  There were mugs, creamers, sugar packs, cutlery, tea bags… on and on.  I was in a hurry and when I reached for something the back of my right hand gently bumped her butt.  In a case such as this, it’s smarter to acknowledge the contact rather than walk away and pretend it didn’t happen.  At least that’s what I thought at the time.  Now, if you knew anything about me, you’d know I joke around a lot.  I often use opposites too. For example, if I’ve been invited to someone’s house for dinner and the food is awesome, I might say something, “Well, you could have at least given me some half decent food.  What the hell is this crap?”  Anyone with half a brain would know what I am really saying is the food is great and thank you for it.

As soon as the touch occurred, (my knuckles, basically) I said to #1, “Oooooops, sorry, that was the back of my hand just so you know… so, please don’t call the labor board or the CBC, okay?”  And, I said it so several people could hear me and with an obvious sense of humor to it.  One woman, an employee, was standing only 8 feet away and another guy, a cook, was about 20 feet away and they both heard me saying it.  Both myself and #1 chuckled a bit and that was it.  We both went on our way and she finished her shift later that day.  Not a word was uttered about it from her or from anyone else.  There was really nothing to say about it because it was just a regular everyday occurrence that happens in many workplaces or in a grocery store, movie theatre, or boarding an airplane.  The incident never came back into my mind until the next day when #1’s brother walked in.  More on that in a bit.

The next day, there was a group of senior women who had come in before… a very fussy group who all wore these purple hats with feathers in them.  I can’t recall their group name, but they were very, very fussy.  On a previous visit, one of the “purple hat ladies” actually asked me what temperature our drinking water was set at.  What????  So, I brought her three glasses: one from the tap, one from the refrigerator and one from the fridge with ice.  She picked the one from the fridge without ice.  I’m serious.  And, she went on and on about her “sensitive teeth.”  Another woman wanted her lemon sliced lengthwise rather than across, telling me that if the lemon is sliced across, she gets lemon juice on her fingers when she squeezes it onto her fish.  Oh the horror… the poor woman needed counseling. So, to play it safe, when I saw this group arriving, I took #1 into the back prep area to give her the heads up.  Let’s play it safe I thought.

My main concern with #1, was the language she used at times.  A little too casual.  For example, when a customer asked her about a certain menu item, she would say, “Oh, that burger is friggin’ awesome!”  Okay, great enthusiasm, but the word “friggin,” is just a step down from the word, “fuckin’” and I’d rather her not say it.  Another thing, she would call people “hon” which is quite common in Nova Scotia.  Most people wouldn’t be bothered by it.  But, I did suggest to her that she not refer to senior citizens that way, especially, these “purple hat ladies” as they might find it somewhat disrespectful.

As usual, the lunch rush was packed.  Every seat was taken with people waiting at the door for a seat.  One group of four (two couples) came in and I approached them.  I told them that there would be a table in about five minutes if they wouldn’t mind waiting.  They were fine with that.  I knew the “purple hat ladies” would be leaving soon.  A few minutes later I saw the group of four leaving.  I asked #1 if she knew why they left and she told me she told them that we were packed and there wouldn’t be a seat for them.  So, they left.

At this point, #1 and I were standing in the back prep area with only a partial wall separating us from the small dining room.  Very quietly and politely, I told her that I had already spoken to the group of four and told them there would be a seat in a few minutes.  Then, I told her we should really try to keep people from leaving if we can.  She had a puzzled look on her face as to why.  So, I again, very politely explained that those four customers could and would very likely have been repeat customers, etc, etc.  Then, to my shock, she actually said, “Hey man, it’s only four people, so what’s the big deal?”  And then I said, “Well, that’s $80.00.”  She either didn’t get it or just didn’t care.  Probably both.

Then, without warning, a nuclear bomb went off in my restaurant.  I had never, ever seen anyone explode like that in my life.  At the top of her lungs… “Okay, that’s it.  I fuckin’ quit!  You are a fuckin’ asshole!!!”  Along with some other lovely words that every single person in my restaurant could clearly hear.  She was shaking and holding a fist at me.  I was ready to duck.  Then, she threw her apron at me, pushed me out of the way and stormed into the back room to get her personal things.

At this point you could hear a pin drop in the dining room.  Those poor “purple hat ladies” were no longer concerned over the temperature of the drinking water or how the lemons were being sliced that day. They were more likely concerned over a chair that could be thrown across the dining room, or a knife being swung.  #1 was really out of control.  Trying to avoid even more drama, I went to the doorway of the back room (where #1 went to get her personal belongings) and told her to go out the back door so as to avoid going through the dining room and out the front door.  Well, that didn’t work.  #1 slammed me out of the way and into the first available wall.  And, I mean she slammed me against the wall.  She walked through the dining room, making even more of a spectacle of herself and of course using even more lovely language, mainly the one which is a step up from the word “friggin.”  Both my customers and my staff were in a state of shock.  I was horrified.  After making the best apology I could come up with on short notice and without a teleprompter, the day continued.

A couple of hours later, probably around 2:30 or 3 pm, there were only a couple of people eating in the dining room when a really rough looking guy walked in.  He was covered in tattoos, had a shaved head… he looked like your classic gang banger dude.  Very loudly, he demanded, “I wanna see RD.  Is RD here?”  (RD was my nickname then.)  I was in the back and I could hear him.  So, I came out to see what was up.  “I’m RD.”  Then, he made the big statement.  “I’m #1’s brother and you fucked up!”  I was puzzled.  I immediately thought she told him that I had fired her.  So, I said, “She quit, I didn’t fire her.”  Then, he floored me with one sentence that I will never forget.  “No, not that.  You grabbed her ass in here yesterday!”  He was getting very loud and looked like he was about to take a swing.  So, I had to reply.  “No I didn’t!  The back of my hand accidentally touched her ass.  I did NOT grab her ass.”  Then, the staffer that was just 8 feet away when it happened came to my rescue.  “No, no, he didn’t grab her ass.  I was right there.  It was just an accidental touch, that’s all.  I was right there.”  At this point, I was able to talk her brother into going outside so we could talk without further disturbing the two that were eating their fish.

Once outside, I explained the whole story in detail.  Joe (not his real name) actually turned out to be a nice guy.  He apologized for her actions, then told me that she was bi-polar and in his opinion, “borderline schizo.”  He then began to list all the medications she was on.  I think he named 6 or 7…  drugs that I had never heard of.  Joe then informed me that she checked herself into the psych ward at the hospital, which wasn’t the first time.  He also told me she had “done this sort of thing” before.  He shook my hand, apologized again and left.  I went back inside to ask myself why, why, why did I ever open a restaurant in the first place?

Later that day, about 6 pm or so, three cops from the Bridgewater Police Force walked into the restaurant.  I first thought they were there to eat since it was fairly common for some of the local coppers to come in during a break.  Nope.  I was wrong.  The first guy looks at me, “Are you Glen Carson?”  Now I knew they were not there for fish or burgers.  “Yes,” I told him.  “Come with me.  You’re under arrest for sexually assaulting #1.”  They took me outside, put me up against the cop car, frisked me, read me my rights and put me in the back of the cruiser, just like on a TV show.  I was in a state of shock.

I told the cops exactly what had happened.  And, I mean, exactly what had happened.  I also told them about her brother showing up and what he told me.  Didn’t matter.  Didn’t make any goddam difference whatsoever.  Of course, people had their cell phones out and the whole deal was facebook, instagram and twitter within minutes.  Even if the cops had released me, the life of my restaurant was done.  Just by chance,Nancy showed up when I was sitting in the back of the police car.  She couldn’t believe what was going on.  She tried to plead her case, but to no avail.  She went in and ran the restaurant while I went to the police station.

I immediately told the cop (Alexander Sparrow) that I will gladly waive my right to have a lawyer present for two reasons: One, I knew I had done nothing wrong and was prepared to tell the cop exactly what happened (on video) and two, it was after 6 pm and my lawyer would be done for the day anyway.  As it turned out later on (when my lawyer saw the video of my interview) he told me they always advise the arrested person to “lawyer up,” but there was nothing I said on the video that could be a problem later on.  I told him “Well, that’s because I told the cop exactly the truth.”  I also found out later that “the truth” doesn’t really matter during a criminal trial.

The interview at the police station was ridiculous.  The cop kept pushing me to say something incriminating.  After a couple hours he told me I could leave.  I had to walk back to the restaurant (about 30 minutes or so) and when I got there I was walking across the parking lot when a car slowed down and the driver yelled out at me, “You’re fuckin’ dead asshole!”  I recognized the driver as #1’s husband Jim, a guy who had come in several times in the weeks prior to tell me how much #1 loved the job and was really happy to have it.

When I got to the door, Nancy had closed up an hour early and was trying to process everything.  She told me that #1’s husband was just there and threatened that if he ever sees me out of the restaurant, he’d “beat the shit” out of me. Well, he just saw me “out of the restaurant” one minute ago and all he did was yell at me.  I called the police to make a record of it just in case it came up some time later.  Nothing materialized from it, however the cops did call him to warn him of his actions and threats.

So, that brought an end to day one of the beginning of my new horrible life.  We’re just getting started… read on.

Of course, facebook, instagram and whatever other ridiculous “social media” sites were exploding.  #1’s friends and family were at it, pounding away on their phones, but not just on their own facebook pages, but on ours as well.  As much as I hate social media, we did have a facebook page, which until that day, had nothing but rave reviews about the restaurant and about me and our staff.  The things that they were saying about me were so bad, we had to take our facebook page down.  I’ll say this… There are many great things about the internet, but there are many, many horrible things, including this garbage they call social media.  The internet would be a much better place if social media had never been started.

The next day, we opened up as usual.  I was on edge the whole time, waiting for someone to come in and start yelling at me for “sexually assaulting” my staff.  Nothing quite that dramatic occurred, however, it was a tense day.  The girl who was standing closest to me and #1 when I touched her butt told me she was going to go to the police station and tell them that what she saw was a simple, harmless, accidental touch.  So, that day, after her shift, she did just that.

The same day in the late afternoon, one of my cooks, who was driving by the police station earlier, saw four of my former employees waiting to go inside.  Two of these people had been fired and two had quit.  I honestly thought they had heard about this whole thing on facebook and decided to go inside and speak for me.  I thought they would say something like, “Even though I was fired, RD never did anything wrong in any kind of sexual way,” or something to that effect.  How wrong I was…

Late in the afternoon, the next day, Thursday, I was at home getting ready to go to the restaurant for the evening when my phone rang.  It was the cop asking me to come to the police station and answer some more questions.  I was down there in a half hour.  Here is what he told me…

There were two men and two women that went in the previous day.  Both of the guys had quit their jobs and really offered nothing more than to bad mouth me saying I would use inappropriate language, I wasn’t a good boss, etc, etc.  None of what they said to the police that day would turn out to benefit the crown during the trial.  The two women however were both fired and for very good reason.  One of these women, who I will refer to as #2, was fired about 6 weeks prior.  She told the cop (the same one who arrested and interviewed me) that I touched her in an “inappropriate way multiple times on every single shift.”  Nothing could be further from the truth.  She also told the officer that I purposely elbowed her in the breast when in fact, either my elbow or upper arm did bump into her chest.  This woman is quite tall and has a large chest.  In a small kitchen when people are in a hurry, they bump into each other on occasion.  That’s life.  There was nothing sexual about it and she damn well knew it.  When it happened, I said, “Oh, come on #2, don’t boob the guy,” simply trying make light of a slightly awkward situation.  There was a customer standing right there, so I had to say something.  She just laughed it off because she knew damn well it was nothing.  She actually said, “Well, stay outta my way or I’ll blast you with one of my cannons.”  This witty reply tells me that she also thought it was nothing sexual.  We both laughed and in fact, I thought her come-back was funny as hell.

The other woman, who I will call #3, was fired about 7 months prior after being given three written warnings.  Believe me, she was dismissed for good reason and then some.  The cooks were given black chef coats, hats and aprons.  She had two big, hairy, white dogs that would ride in her car on the way to work.  She would wear her chef coat in the car and when she arrived she’d be covered in white dog hair, not something that a restaurant owner would like the customers, or the health inspector to see.  I told her several times to do something about it… but she didn’t seem to care.  On two or three occasions, I would take a wet cloth and clean the dog hair off her back.  One time she even asked me to.  This would take about 15 or 20 seconds or so.  Then, she would clean the hair from her front and arms.  I cleaned the hair from her back simply because she couldn’t reach it.  A couple times, it was another staff member who cleaned the dog hair from her back.  Believe it or not, the dog hair on her back was not the reason she was fired.

Here is the shocker – she actually told the cop that on many occasions, I would take her in the back room and close the door (there was no door), and I would rub her chest, her crotch, her ass and her legs to get the hair off of her and I would do this for 10 – 15 minutes each time.  Further, she said I would tell the staff “do not come in here” while this was happening.  She also told the cop that I would only do this in the back room, which was another lie because some of the staff remembered me removing the dog hair from her back while in the kitchen (before we opened up).  In fact, Nancy remembered me doing this in the kitchen once and she herself even used a wet cloth to take dog hair off her back. When the cop told me what she said, I was livid.  All I could do was to tell the cop that none of this happened.

Neither of these two women ever saw, experienced or even thought about any type of inappropriate sexual behavior at the restaurant from me, or anyone else.  Nothing was ever mentioned.  If there was, believe me, I would have addressed the allegation immediately.  The reason they went to the police station in the first place, as I learned later, was simply to make me look bad with hopes that, with their complaints added to the claim of #1, that the cops would charge me with sexual assault.  The classic “pile on” strategy.  This made perfect sense to me once I had a chance to really think about it, plus, a couple of people who knew #2 personally actually came into the restaurant a few weeks later and told me this.  By the way, #2 and #3 were friends.  And, #2 was good friends with one of the guys who went to the station that day.  He actually quit, walked out, the second that I told him I had fired #2, his friend.  Remember that for later on.

These four people had learned on facebook that I had been arrested the day before.  I was arrested on a Tuesday and they surely learned about it that evening, or the next morning.  They all got together and planned to go to the police station that day and “pile on” which they did.  Both of these women (both in their early twenties) must have been in shock when the cop notified them a couple days later that I had been charged with sexually assaulting them as well as #1.  From what I have learned and what common sense tells me, that was never the plan.  They just wanted to “fuck ‘em over” according to some people who knew them personally.

So, back to Thursday evening when I returned to the police station to “answer a few more questions.”  After the cop told me about the four of them coming in to offer their lies, he informed me that I was being charged with three counts of sexual assault, one for each woman.  No matter what I said it didn’t matter.  I remember telling the cop in the hallway that #3 would not show up to trial.  I told him there is no way she’d be able to face me and Nancy with her insane lies.

Before I knew it, I was being fingerprinted and I had my mug shots taken, the whole deal.  The cop asked me if I had any tattoos, a “street name” and if I had any “street gang affiliation.”  I’m not kidding. When the cement head asked me where I was born, I told him I was born in Ottawa.  He didn’t know how to spell Ottawa… our nation’s capital.  So, I spelled it for him.  I’m dead serious.  Hence, the reason for me calling him, “cement head.”

Now my life was in serious trouble.  I went home to try to process all this and figure out what the next steps were.  Nancy could not believe it.  It was going to be a rough ride.

 

Overview…

Since there were three charges, my lawyer wanted to have three trials rather than one and the thinking was that since none of these women had any kind of evidence, it would be easier to deal with them one at a time.  The crown attorney wanted one trial and was pushing for it.  My lawyer pushed for three trials and in the end was successful in that regard.

When I was being interviewed at the police station I told the cop that # 3 (the one covered in dog hair) would not show up to the trial because there was no way she could look me or Nancy in the eye and go through with this bullshit.  I also told my lawyer and Nancy that she wouldn’t show up.  I was right and on the morning of her trial she was a no show.  The judge dismissed the case.  The cop was there and on the way out of the courtroom he looked at me as if to say, “Yes, you were right.”

Now, we were down to two trials.

Trial One

The first trial was for # 2 who said I touched her in an “inappropriate way, multiple times on every shift” that she worked there (for 6 months) and that I purposely elbowed her breast.  Well, to my surprise, she did show up for trial and she had some type of “sexual assault survivor” social worker with her.  How pathetic.

This trial went on for months, mainly because there was an email from her that we knew would prove that she lied on the stand.  I also suffered a heart attack during all this.  Trust me, I have had more pleasurable experiences.  After three months, we found it, used it in court, but in the end it didn’t help.  The judge either didn’t care that we caught her lying or didn’t see the email the same way we did.

We caught her lying multiple times on the stand… we also submitted a Christmas card that she gave to Nancy and me saying “Dear Nancy and RD… thank you very much for all you do.  Looking forward to a great 2018… Signed # 3.”  See the copy of it to the right.  So, why would you give a very nice card to someone who is apparently sexually assaulting them?  I know why… because nobody was being sexually assaulted, that’s why.  If she had not read on facebook about me being arrested, we would never have heard from her again.  There was no reason to.  She was fired for good reason and we paid her the proper severance that is required by law.

My trial lawyer had her on the stand –  The following is a scaled down account of what was said.  The actual transcripts are on this site if you would like to read them.

Lawyer – “So, you told the police that Mr. Carson touched you in an inappropriate way multiple times on every single shift.  Is that correct?”

# 3 – “Yes.”

Lawyer – “How long did you work there?”

# 3 – “About 6 months.”

Lawyer – “On the average, how many shifts or hours per week did you work?”

My lawyer did the math and averaged it all out using a calculator.

Lawyer –  “So, you’re saying that Mr. Carson touched you in an inappropriate manner more than 100 times?”

# 3 – “Well, I guess I must have exaggerated when I first spoke to the police officer, but I know he did it several times.”

At this point, I just happened to make eye contact with the judge and I looked at him with the palms of my hands turned up to basically say, Well, are you going to throw it out now?  He just looked away. (I didn’t know that a judge could not simply dismiss a case in the midst of it.)

Lawyer – “Well, did Mr. Carson touch you with his hand?”

# 3 – “I didn’t see his hand, I didn’t feel his hand, but it could have been his hand.  But, I know he brushed up against me several times.”

She actually said that.  Again, I looked at the judge as if to say, Come on, this is ridiculous.  Throw it out.  Again, he just looked away.

Lawyer – “Why didn’t you call the police about the alleged assaults.”

# 3 – “Because I was afraid of being fired.  I have a mortgage and car payment… I couldn’t afford to lose my job.”  She went on and on about being a young, vulnerable female who was afraid of her big, scary, man-boss… the poor victim angle.  I nearly threw up on the spot.

Lawyer – “It was nearly seven weeks after you were fired before you went to the police.  Why did you wait so long?  It’s pretty hard to be worried about being fired after you’ve already been fired.”

# 3 – “When I read about the other assault on facebook, I knew I had to say something so this type of abuse could be stopped.”

Lawyer – “Did you call the labor board after you were fired?”

# 3 –  “No, I mean yes I did.  But they said since I hadn’t worked there for one full year, there was nothing that I could do.”

Another lie.  In Nova Scotia, an employee can be fired without cause for up to three months, not one year.  Also, I’m pretty sure that if someone called the labor board with a sexual assault compliant, my phone would be ringing that day.

After all this, she claimed that I purposely elbowed her chest right in front of a customer.  This is another lie.  As I said earlier, I did bump into her accidentally.  In fact, it could be argued that she bumped into me.

# 3 had only one single witness on her side… and that was her friend, another worker, the guy who quit the second he knew that I had fired her.  All he really said on the stand was that it looked like I purposely elbowed her.  Of course, he also said that he didn’t see people bumping into each other… that sort of thing.

Bottom line is this – # 3 had zero evidence.  Zero.  She lied throughout the trail.  Her story changed several times.  I had 7 witnesses, all employees who defended me 100%.  When the judge was reading his decision, he basically said, “Although # 3 didn’t know if Mr. Carson touched her with this hand, I think he did. I find Mr. Carson guilty.”  So, the judge made up his own evidence and based his decision on it.  Great!  According to her own testimony, this woman didn’t even know if she was sexually assaulted.

So, there ya go.  I was found guilty of sexual assault because I apparently “brushed up” against someone several times in a very small, busy kitchen and my elbow accidentally bumped into a woman’s chest.

If any of you have ever worked in a busy restaurant, or any other busy workplace, you know that bumping into others is a common occurrence.  That’s just part of life.  But, these days, you can end up with a criminal record over it.

Below are the relevant transcripts from the trial –

The transcripts that are omitted are those such as discussions between the judge, the Crown and my lawyer regarding setting new trial dates, whether or not emails or facebook posts should be permitted, that sort of thing.  I also didn’t bother adding the transcripts when my 7 witnesses were being questioned on the stand.  There’s not a whole lot there worth reading, really.  Basically, they all spoke highly of me and said that they never saw any kind of sexual touching and that was fairly common to bump into one another.  What you can read below are the conversations between # 3, my lawyer and the crown, the important stuff.

• Transcripts
• Summation-by-the-Crown
• Summation by the Defence
• Decision-Trial-1

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Trial Two

The second trial was even more ridiculous.  It started a couple of days after trial 1.  This is the woman, # 1, who said I grabbed her ass when all that happened was the back of my hand, my knuckles, accidentally touched her ass.  That did happen.

On this trial, she didn’t even have one single witness, not even someone who bad-mouthed me or told lies about me.  So, it was her word against mine and my seven witnesses.

# 1 lied through her teeth and said whatever she could to make me look like a pervert.  She said I snuck up from behind her and grabbed her butt.  She said she could “feel his hot breath on my cheek.”  Then, she said that I leaned into her ear and said, “Ha, ha, I just grabbed your butt.”  You have NO idea how badly I wanted to stand up and scream and call her a liar.  But, my lawyer had warned me before the trials had started to simply just sit there and keep my mouth shut.  So, I did.

One of my witnesses who testified on the stand told the court that she was standing 8 feet away from where me and # 3 were standing when the touch occurred and she said that to her, it looked like an accidental touch, nothing more.  She also said that she did not hear me say anything like, “Ha, ha, I just grabbed your butt.”  Another staff member was about 15 feet away and he basically said the same thing.  He also said he heard me make the joke about “don’t call the labor board or the CBC, ha, ha, ha” etc… He also said that # 3 did not react in any way that seemed like someone had just grabbed her ass.

When the Crown was finished with her on the stand, the judge said, “Are you finished?”  The crown replied, “Yes.”  Then the judge said, “Well, the evidence is pretty thin.”  To me that meant that there was basically no evidence.  But, as I have mentioned before, evidence doesn’t seem to matter these days.

When my lawyer had # 1 on the stand, he asked her some very clear questions.  For example, she asked her if she had told her husband about the alleged assault the same evening when she got home.  She said that she did.  Now, remember, it was the day after she freaked out in the restaurant and stormed out.  And, it was that day that she went to the police, not the day of the accidental touch.  It was the evening of the arrest that her husband showed up to “beat the shit” out of me.  My lawyer asked her why, if she had told her husband the day of the touch, why did he wait more than 24 hours to become angry enough that he went to the restaurant to “beat the shit” out of me.  She didn’t have a logical answer at all.  Why?  Because she didn’t tell him the day of touch because there was nothing to tell him.

My lawyer also asked her why she finished her shift after the touch and why she came back to work the next day.  Again, she did not have a logical or sensible answer for that.  My lawyer also asked her if she was on any type of medication and if so, for what.  She told the court that she was on medication for anxiety and depression and had been for 15 years.  So, right there, wouldn’t a sane (with an ounce of common sense) judge think that maybe… just maybe… she just snapped and lost it?  People who are bi-polar do that type of thing.  It’s a mental illness, it’s not a choice.

My lawyer also asked her why, if she was so devastated by the so-called assault, why did we find a facebook picture of her smiling and having a great ‘ol time at the beach taken the day after she checked herself into the psych ward at the hospital and the day after she went to the police?  Again, she did not have a good answer for that.

 

What an absolute shit show.

When the Crown had me on the stand, he asked me if my previous TV name “The Rugged Dude,” (people called me “RD”) was used to intimidate the female workers and if it would “create an atmosphere of misogyny and sexual tension,” all kinds of crap.  “So, you’re the Rugged Dude?  A big macho guy?”  If you ever saw any of my fishing or hunting shows when they were on TV, you’d know that the whole thing was straight comedy, goofy as hell.  One of the things we always did in the show was make fun of these big time, rough and tumble rugged dudes. But, the Crown pulled out all the garbage he could throw at me.Well, guess what?  Regardless of a lack of any kind of evidence, or witness statements or testimony and after me having 7 witnesses who all spoke for me and after the judge saying, “Well, the evidence is pretty thin,” the judge found me guilty of sexual assault.

To my relief, I was acquitted in March of 2020.  My lawyers did a fantastic job and Judge Darlene Jamieson threw it out.  The Crown did however, have 30 days to appeal that decision and he did, to the shock of my lawyers.  On day 28, he submitted documents to appeal the decision by Judge Jamieson.

On September 27, 2020, I was finally acquitted of this charge, so I decided to not bother putting the transcripts on the site.  What I can tell you, is there was ZERO evidence, she had ZERO witnesses and we caught her lying multiple times while on the stand.  But,there is no consequence to # 1.  She walks away unscathed.

• Acquittal Trial #2
• Order-of-Acquittal

 

 

There was simply no goddam way I could accept the decision by the judges.  So, of course, I appealed both.  I also had to take another nervous look at my bank account.

Appeal # 1.  This is the trial where #1 said I grabbed her ass in my restaurant.

In March of 2022, my new lawyer went to the Nova Scotia Court and submitted documents that were simply asking for a new trial.  The thinking was that the Crown wouldn’t bother to go through with one, especially since the minor nature of the alleged assault. The appeal judge went above and beyond our request and granted an acquittal.  This is something that is rarely done, but the judge obviously realized that there really was zero evidence to begin with.  Further, as my lawyers had stated in their appeal, the “rule of courtroom law” had been broken during the trial.  That is discussed on the page containing “Trials.”

I got an email from my lawyer and in the subject line it read, “Great news, call me.”

So, the big question is… how, HOW was I found guilty in the original trial?  Your guess is as good as mine.  There really was zero evidence and not one single witness.

The Crown had 30 days to appeal that decision and my lawyers told me that the odds of that happening are almost zero…. almost zero.  On the 28th day, the Crown submitted documents appealing the decision of the acquittal.  My lawyer was beside himslef and couldn’t believe it.  Nor could I.  The way the Crown was acting, you’d think I was accused of killing nine women and cutting them up with a chainsaw.

So… after another $15,000, on September 27, 2022, the appeal judges kicked it out once and for all.  There was a panel of three judges this time and according to my lawyer, they basically berated the Crown for nearly an hour before they were finished and wouldn’t even let him begin.

The big question is, how did the original judge find me guilty of sexual assault when there was zero evidence in the trial?  Oh, I know… maybe she was in my restaurant once and we overcooked her fish a little too much… or, the chair wasn’t quite comfortable enough for her… or, the coleslaw had too much mayo in it.  Something smells fishy to me.

That conviction has been overturned and it’s final.  The first thing I did was call everyone I know with the news.  I called a bunch of people in Bridgewater too.  And, I would imagine it went on facebook and Instagram pretty fast.  Ironic, isn’t it? But, hey, there is no consequence to # 1.  Her life just goes on… without a problem.  Even though I was eventually acquitted, she got what she wanted.  She destroyed my life.

So, onto trial # 2.  This is the one who told the arresting officer that I “touched her inappropriately multiple times on every shift for 6 months” and that I “purposely elbowed her breast right in front of a customer.”  Ya, sure I did.

The appeal judge turned down the appeal.  My lawyer was in shock and so was I.  So, away we go to the appellate court and another lawyer.  And, more money… $15,000.

In the second appeal, at the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, there was a panel of three judges again.  In early January of 2022, they refused to hear the appeal.  Why, I will never know.  My lawyer couldn’t understand it either.  Bottom line is this – I have been convicted of sexual assault for apparently “brushing up” against someone and because my elbow or upper arm bumped her breast.  Does that sound like a sexual assault to you?

If you look at line # 2 in the decision (below) there is an error.  # 2 never said I touched or even brushed her with my hand.  When asked by my trial lawyer … “Did Mr. Carson touch you with his hand?”  She said, “I didn’t see his hand, I didn’t feel his hand, but it could have been his hand.”   The judge said that he thought I touched her with my hand.  So, that right there tells me that these judges didn’t read all the transcripts from the trial.  What a horrible travesty of justice.

Below is the decision from the Court of Appeal in Nova Scotia.

• Sentencing

 

If you are convicted of sexual assault you will be in for some serious problems.  At the very least, you will be given a term of house arrest where you will be allowed out for maybe a few hours per week.  You’ll be on probation for a year or more.  You’ll have to take a 10 hour seminar for sex offenders.  You will be placed on Canada’s National Sex Offender Registry and you likely be made to pay a fine.  Your accuser could sue you in civil court.

Being on the National Sex Offender Registry means every time you go somewhere other than your residence for more than seven (7) days you must notify the local police department of your intended destination before you leave. If there was report of a sexual assault anywhere near where you are, take one guess at who they’ll look for first?  You’ll also have to go to the police station once each year for a new photo and to answer any questions they have for you.  And – the police will go to your house to ensure that you live there.  Oh, and you’ll have to submit a DNA sample.  Trust me, the whole thing is very degrading.

Another problem with being on what I call “the pervert list” is that if you are stopped by police for a simple traffic violation for example, your record will be right there for the cop to see on his computer screen.  All they have to do is pop in your name, driver’s license number, plates, etc… and they will see your record.  Why should this matter?  Well, it shouldn’t.  But it might.

I was in Saskatchewan in the fall of 2023 and I got pulled over by a cop.  I had no idea why.  I was told that it is illegal to have tinted side windows in that province.  First, I didn’t even realize they were tinted as the tint was so light that I never even thought about it.  Second, I had no idea tint sided windows were illegal in Saskatchewan.  The cop went back to his car and came back with a ticket for $115.00.  He was a lot less polite when he returned with my ticket, in fact, he was quite rude.  There is no doubt in my mind that when he saw my record, he thought, “Okay, asshole, here is your ticket.”  For all I know the guy’s sister was sexually assaulted once and now this guy has a beef with guys like me.

When I went to pay the fine at the courthouse a few days later, the cop at the door asked me why I was there, so I told him.  Then, not to my surprise, he said, “You’re from out of province and he actually wrote the ticket?”  I said “that is correct.”  He then told me that they pretty much always just issue a warning to out of province drivers since almost all of them have tinted side windows.  Of course I didn’t bother to tell the cop at the courthouse about my record, but I knew what was going on.  So, there ya go.  If you have a criminal record, especially for sexual assault, there is a very good chance you’ll get special treatment if stopped for something.

In many cases, if convicted of sexual assault, you will be incarcerated for several years or more.  That’s right – jail!  If you’re really unfortunate, you’ll end up being Jimmy’s girlfriend down in cell block C.

Once convicted, of course, you will have a criminal record.  This means you will not be able to travel outside of Canada.  This also means you will have a near impossible task of finding employment.  Since most companies do background or criminal record checks these days, well guess what?  No company is going to hire someone who is on the national sex offender registry, even if the head of HR believes you to be innocent. The company cannot take a chance of the public finding out that they knowingly hired a registered sex offender.  That would be a PR disaster and would cost the company dearly.

If you have a firearms license (PAL), you can kiss it goodbye.  My yellow Lab keeps asking me why we don’t go duck hunting anymore.  I spend a lot of time in the woods where there are plenty of black bears and wolves.  So, now, without owning a rifle, all I can do if a bear comes at me is yell at it, or maybe throw a rock at the damn thing.  Pepper spray?  Hopefully, the wind is at my back if I hit the trigger.

Great.

 

Let’s be straight up here.  Sexual assault sounds dirty, very dirty.  Greasy in fact.  If you are convicted of good ‘ol fashioned, standard-issue assault… you know the story.  You ended up punching some jerk in the face for one reason or another.  Maybe he hit you first, but you ended up being charged.  If people heard about that, no big deal.  Some people would even say the other guy was “an asshole” and deserved it. You’d still have plenty of legal problems, but that’s as far as it would go.

But, sexual assault?  SEXUAL assault!  It sounds like you basically raped someone or at least tried to… or got stopped part way through.  Sexual assault sounds disgusting because it is.  People conjure images of a woman being dragged off into the bushes and then with part or all of her clothes torn off, she is sexually violated.  Another classic, a woman is lured into a bedroom at a house party and assaulted.

When all this first started, you would not believe how I was treated by many people in a small town of 8,000 people.  Just about everyone knew about it thanks to this goddam social media garbage.  I had rocks thrown at me, rocks thrown at my truck… I had a beer bottle thrown at my house.  It hit just beside a huge window.  I got (very loudly) called a “dirty fuckin’ cocksucker” in a grocery store and that was by a regular customer who seemed to really like me before all this crap started.  One of my best customers, a woman in her 80s who loved our food and loved me, saw me in a hardware store a couple weeks after the word broke.  She leaned into my ear and asked, “Why are you not in jail right now?” At least she was somewhat discreet about it.

I could go on…

Okay, maybe I will – I recall one instance about two weeks after this all started, I was walking into a gas station to pay for my gas when I noticed one of our regular customers, one who really liked me and my staff.  She was coming out of the store and walking toward me.  Our eyes met, so I kind of had to at least say hi to her.  When I did, she very aggressively barked back at me, “Hi RD.  Well, I guess you won’t see me in your restaurant anytime soon you fuckin’ asshole!”  And, as she was driving out of the parking lot, she looked right at me and gave me the finger.

Especially with the Internet these days (social media is not only completely stupid, it’s also completely out of control) the title of “sexual pervert” or “rapist” will be with you forever.  Once it’s out there, it ain’t never goin’ back, that much I can assure you.  If you choose to remain in the community where you were charged and or convicted, people will never stop talking about you.  You will be ostracized from your community.  You will be yelled at in a grocery store and called some horrible names like I was.  And, if you are lucky enough, like I was, you’ll have rocks thrown at you and your vehicle.  You’ll have a beer bottle thrown at your house.  You’ll have death threats.  You’ll have an impossible time if you run a small business and will likely have to sell it… for next to nothing.  Hey, you’ll probably have to sell the brand new house you just built and move out of the province.

Wanna know how I know all this?? Take a guess.

A couple years back, I drove out to Saskatchewan to work as a cook at a hunting lodge that hosted duck and goose hunters mostly from the USA.  This was a three day drive for me.  The gig would have lasted about 8 weeks, tops.  Once there, I met Dave, one of the owners (the guy I spoke to on the phone) and he seemed like a really good guy.  So, I thought it would be proper if I told him my story.  (Sometimes I’m too honest for my own good.)   I could see he winced a bit, but told me he didn’t have any concerns.  He did say however that he’d have to tell his business partner.  So, he did.

The next day he told me that his business partner had told his wife, then she told Dave’s wife.  (She was at the lodge the night before with her two young kids who were having pizza in the kitchen.  And, she was very nice to me.)  Apparently, both women went into orbit, totally freaked out.  Dave told me that his wife said to him, “Oh my God, I was just there with my children!”  Great, so now I’m a child molester as well as just a regular every day sex offender… Wow.

So, before noon that day, I was sent packing.  However, Dave told me he 100% believed that I was innocent, but he also explained that he had no choice but to let me go.  Both wives were panicking, plus, as he noted, if the word got out around the farming community where the lodge was, the locals would never allow his duck and goose hunters to hunt on their land.  In simple terms it would hurt his business big time.  I can’t blame him one bit.  He actually gave me $800 for travel expenses (he offered, I did not ask) and apologized a million times.  He really did feel bad for me.  So, I drove three days back to Ontario.

Once convicted, you’ll be placed on the National Sex Offender Registry.  Just wait until people hear about that!

Oh my…

 

So far, just my legal fees are well over $170,000.  Lawyers aren’t cheap and I’ve had four of them.

Sure, there were plenty of people who supported me, still came into the restaurant and told me straight up that they did not believe I did anything wrong.  But, there were plenty who thought I was basically a pile of disgusting dog crap that goes around sexually assaulting his staff. So, I just had to leave the area.  Nancy and I had to sell our beautiful home that we just built and we had to sell it fast.  We ended up dumping it for far less than what we would have had we not been in such a rush to move it.  I could no longer live in the area, or the province for that matter.

The restaurant was basically sold for the cost of the equipment, that’s it.  It was worth much more, but again, it had to be sold.  With a new name, the restaurant is still open as far as I know.

I had to travel back and forth from Ontario to Nova Scotia to attend court.  Each time would cost about $4,000 for flights, hotels, car rental, meals, etc.  I even had to go to Value Village and buy a stupid jacket and tie… and shoes… and pants… and a belt.  (It would look pretty bad if my pants fell down in the courtroom.  I am a sexual offender after all.)   You can add that $50.00 into it if you like.

Bottom line, so far, this whole nightmare has cost somewhere around $350,000.  You read that right… I’ll spell it out in case you don’t understand.  Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars… and counting because the show is not over yet.

 

Why book me to come to your business or organization and present my seminar?

Simple –

Because I can save your company immeasurable pain, misery, financial disaster and a public relations nightmare like you would NOT believe.

Just open a website news page, watch the news on TV or read a newspaper and you’ll see that just about every day someone is accusing some guy of sexual assault, or in the very least, sexually inappropriate behaviour.  This is happening to Joe Blow as well but you won’t likely hear about it because hearing about Joe Blow doesn’t sell newspapers or ad space on a website.  Some of these are current day allegations and some are from decades prior.

My seminars or workshops (call it what you like) will normally last between 3 and 4 hours.  The presentation will key in on several items, all vital if you wish that you or nobody in your organization ends up in my shoes… or worse.

First, you will learn a bit about me.  The reason is simple and necessary.  I need you to know that I am just your regular everyday guy.  I’m in my 60s now, (which freaks me out!) and my background is pristine.  I’ve never been in trouble before.  I’ve had one minor speeding ticket that I disputed and the judge threw it out.  I’ve been a lifelong hunter and fisherman, I play drums, I played minor hockey and I owned and operated eight small businesses.

Next, you will hear my story, the whole thing. This is where you’ll realize that a false sexual assault charge can happen to anyone, not just the rich and famous like rock stars, professional athletes, politicians or high ranking military guys.

Most importantly, I will illustrate in comprehensive detail how you and anyone in your company or organization can avoid getting caught up in a lie that can destroy your life, the life of one of your workers and the reputation of your company or organization.

I am extremely confident in the value of my seminars.  When it’s over, if you can look me in the eye and tell me, honestly tell me, that it wasn’t worth the time or money, I will refund your company in full.