Crown challenges impartiality of expert witness at sex assault trial

The Crown prosecutor in the Charlottetown sexual assault trial of Edward Mundle says the psychiatrist who testified as an expert witness "cherry-picked" information from the complainant's medical records.

Dr. Benjamin Spears, a long-time psychiatrist on P.E.I., was called by defence lawyer Peter Ghiz to provide expert testimony on Thursday at the jury trial taking place at the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island.

Mundle, 58, has pleaded not guilty.

Spears's testimony centred on his analysis of hospital records from 2014, relating to the mental health of Stephanie Douglas the woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Mundle.

Spears testified that those records show Douglas rated 50 out of 100 on a scale used by psychiatrists to measure the overall mental functioning of their patients

But Crown prosecutor LisaGoulden drew the jury's attention to other parts of the medical records that reported no evidence of hallucinations or depression and "no difficulties in function or psychosis," according to the prosecutor.

"You cherry-picked information," she said to Spears.

Goulden also told the jury that she sees a conflict of interest in the witness's testimony.

I suggest you have a personal loyalty to the Mundle family.- Lisa Goulden

Court has already heard that Mundle's father is a physician. Under cross-examination, Spears confirmed they have known each other for years.

"I suggest you have a personal loyalty to the Mundle family," said Goulden.

Spears told the court he believes he has no conflict of interest and can be impartial.

Medical records in the spotlight

Douglas's medical records have been the focus of two days of testimony in this trial.

The jury of eight men and four women has heard that Douglas was hospitalized for three weeks in January 2014 with a life-threatening bacterial infection a condition she later told police was related to how Mundle allegedly assaulted her during a visit to his house on New Year's Day.

During her time at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Douglas spent time on a ventilator in the intensive care unit and was seen by a psychiatrist.

Mundle and Douglas had met online through the Plenty of Fish site and had been casually dating for a few months when the alleged incident occurred in Mundle's basement.

The final defence witness Thursday was a neighbour of Mundle's who reviewed photographs of the layout of the basement, with defence lawyer Peter Ghiz pointing out details where Douglas's recollection did not match what could be seen in the photos.

When cross-examined byGoulden, the neighbour acknowledged he was not in the basement around the time of the alleged incident. He said the photos were taken earlier this month.

One more witness possible

Following the day's testimony, Goulden asked Justice Tracey Clements to allow her to call one more expert witnessanother psychiatrist to respond to Spears's testimony.

As is usual in Canadian court cases, the Crown presents its evidence first, followed by the defence. Permission must be granted for a new Crown witness to come forward after the defence's witnesses have testified.

Douglas watched Thursday's proceedings from the public gallery in the courtroom.

She can be named in news coverage of this trial because she has not requested a publication ban on her identity.

During testimony earlier in the week, she described herself to the jury as a long-time community advocate for social justice. She told the jurors she hopes this case will make it easier for other women who have been victimized, especially Black and Indigenous women, to come forward.

The trial continues Friday.

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