Ontario man acquitted of sex charges against 2 Island boys

An Ontario man has been found not guilty of sex crimes against two boys on P.E.I.

The judge who tried the case ruled one of the boys who gave statements to police may have been coached, unwittingly, by family and by investigators.

Timothy Andrew Neuman, 34, of Stouffville, Ont., buried his head in his arms, after the not guilty verdict was handed down Wednesday in P.E.I. Supreme Court in Charlottetown.

Neuman had testified in his own defence at his trial in January and denied all allegations against him.

One of the two brothers who were alleged victims had also testified.

But it was a series of videotaped statements that the boy gave to police and social workersthat left Justice Gregory Cann with "reasonable doubt" about what actually happened in the summer of 2015.

Family member discussed case with boy

"I have serious concerns about the reliability of the boy's evidence," Cann told court. "The inconsistencies relate to more than just peripheral details."

Neuman was accused of sex assault and other sex-related charges. The incidents were alleged to have taken place in his rooms at a motel where he lived and worked as a handyman. The brothers, preteens at the time, were often in his care and sometimes stayed with him overnight.

The boy who gave videotaped statements to investigators originally saidnothing had happened, but in subsequent interviews the boy went into increasingly explicit detail of alleged sexual incidents. The judge noted a family member had discussed the case with the boy between interviews, and on one occasiontold the boy that the accused man was "a pedophile."

"I imply no criticism [of the family member]. She was concerned for the children and had no training in interviewing witnesses," Cann told court.

The judge also said investigators made a mistake "in good faith" by telling the boy his evidence would help his brother cope with what had allegedly happened.

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