A Calgary court has found a Cochrane man guilty of sexually assaulting his two stepdaughters after a new trial was ordered in the case by the Alberta Court of Appeal.
Allen Dean Griffin, 49, was accused of abusing his two stepdaughters and his biological daughter over a seven year period, when the girls were between five and 14 years old.
The Alberta Court of Appeal ordered a second trial for Griffin saying that Justice Keith Yamauchi, who presided over the first trial, relied on stereotypes and questioned why the alleged abuse wasn't reported sooner.
Lisa Fox, the mother of two of the victims, told CTV Calgary in December that the second trial was another chance at justice in the case.
On Wednesday, Griffin was found guilty of sexual assaulting his stepdaughters, Taylor and Kylie French, but he was found not guilty on sexual assault and sexual touching charges in connection to his biological daughter, Jordyn.
The judge found Jordyn was unable to recall many of the details and so Griffin was acquitted on those charges.
“This has been such a tough case for the family, they’ve been through so much. I’m very satisfied with the ruling. It was very well thought out, both from the legal and factual aspects that the court found. I’m very happy,” said Crown prosecutor Ron Simenik. "It's good to be over. It's never easy for a witness to testify and for them to have to go through this under oath three different times, it's unfortunate."
“I think we were pretty surprised and happy. The judge really seemed to hear and listen very carefully to the testimony of the girls, in the last trial in December, and that was evidenced in his decision. He was very thorough, he didn’t miss much. So really, really happy to be validated, for these girls to be able to put some closure on this. This is a good step forward for them,” said Lisa Fox.
“It’s a relief. It’s been six and a half years that we’ve been waiting for the justice system to hear us and he listened and he heard all the little details,” said Dawn Griffin.
“We didn’t want to be hidden. We wanted everybody to know who he is, where he comes from and that kind of involves us being known,” said Jordyn Griffin. “It’s not necessarily easy but it’s worth it the end.”
“After all this time, I’m really glad that it’s over. It is unfortunate how long it took but it’s just going over all the details, it’s not just hard on the people who have to sit there and listen to it. It is a personal thing that we have to relive every time that it does come up in the matter so I’m glad that it’s over with and I don’t have to relive the situation anymore,” said Kylie Fox.
Simenik says it has been a lengthy process and that in the end the right decision was made.
Griffin is in custody and a sentencing date is expected to be scheduled in the next three or four months.
