Kenneth Marlin was found guilty on five counts of child molestation that occurred at his family’s farm in the 1980s and 1990s. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in January 2023.
A Court of Appeal ruling issued on September 8 has stayed four of the five convictions over unreasonable court delays.
According to a report by CTV News, Marlin will now spend four years in prison after the Court of Appeal ruled that court delays caused his rights to be violated in relation to section 11b of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Five men accused Marlin of sexually abusing them in the 1980s and 1990s at his family’s farm in Hemmingford.
CTV News reports that the court ruled that there was a 73-day delay in 2020 caused by the prosecution. Marlin filed an appeal, alleging the original judge erred by ruling that the Sûreté du Québec had not been negligent after evidence in the case was lost or destroyed.
In the mid-1990s, two of the victims had filed complaints to the RCMP about Marlin’s sexual abuse. Some of the evidence from this time could not be found in 2020.
The Court of Appeal ruled that negligence had taken place, and the absence of this evidence compromised Marlin’s right to a fair trial.
Both appeals were filed in relation to four of the five complainants. The fifth conviction still stands.
Marlin is also facing two civil lawsuits filed by two of the victims, who are suing for a total of $2.4 million. (CF)