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“Mr. Viau feels vindicated by the result. He is very thankful to the court for … upholding the importance of the presumption of innocence and the requirement for proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Published Jun 28, 2023 • 3 minute read
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A judge has acquitted an Edmonton tattoo artist of sexually assaulting two female clients during an appointment, finding it unlikely neither sister witnessed the alleged assaults despite sitting nearby.
Daniel Viau, 28, had been accused of touching the genitals of two sisters who came to his studio April 13, 2021.
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The sisters said the touching went on for much of the hours-long tattooing session, while Viau inked designs on their upper legs. However, neither testified to witnessing Viau touch the other, which left Court of King’s Bench Justice Grant Dunlop with reasonable doubt about Viau’s guilt.
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Dunlop said the fact neither sister warned the other about the alleged assault was another inconsistency in their testimony.
“I am not saying all victims of sexual assault will cry out when it happens, that is a myth,” he said.
However, in the specific circumstances, “it is improbable (the younger sister) would remain silent while Mr. Viau kept his hand in her underwear for three hours.”
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Defence lawyer Will van Engen said Viau — who is currently serving a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for two 2016 rapes — is relieved.
“Mr. Viau feels vindicated by the result. He is very thankful to the court for considering the evidence in great detail and upholding the importance of the presumption of innocence and the requirement for proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The younger of the two sisters — who both immigrated to Canada as kids — was 16 the day of the tattoo session. Her sister, who is four years older, had booked them an appointment with Viau because she liked his work. Both their names are under a publication ban.
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The younger sister went first. Partway through, she claimed Viau asked her to remove her shorts so he could better access her upper leg. She said a short time later, he began to rub her genitals beneath her underwear. At first, she couldn’t tell whether the alleged touching was accidental. Eventually, she came to believe she was being assaulted, but did nothing because she was scared and the tattoo was nearly finished.
The older sister then took her turn on the table. She described a similar series of events, saying she asked to end the session before the tattoo was complete because she was so uncomfortable.
Dunlop, however, said the Crown had failed to prove the touching occurred “at all.” Both sisters were present for the duration of the other’s tattoo, and neither testified to seeing Viau’s hand in the other’s underwear, despite both having reason to be alert. He noted there were chances for the sisters to speak with each other out of Viau’s earshot, but neither said anything.
Crown prosecutor Fraser Genuis said Dunlop could accept the touching happened and that neither sister happened to see. Dunlop disagreed.
“It is possible both those facts can be true, but it is unlikely.”
Dunlop also believed it far-fetched that the younger sister wouldn’t have told Viau to stop during the time she thought he was accidentally touching her private area.
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Genuis said expecting the sisters to react in certain ways was a “rape myth” — a legally prohibited line of reasoning about how sexual assault victims should be expected to behave. He said freezing or going silent are legitimate reactions to sexual assault.
Dunlop agreed, but said his decision to acquit hung not on myths, but on specific inconsistencies in the complainants’ testimony.
Outside court, Van Engen said the Crown’s case was “unusual” because both sisters failed to keep an eye on Viau despite having had self-professed reasons for doing so.
“Not only did they not observe what took place, they didn’t observe anything untoward, anything unusual, nothing that struck them as odd about the encounter.”
Genuis declined to comment.
Viau’s trial began Monday, the same day the Alberta Court of Appeal declined to overturn his 2021 conviction for sexually assaulting two teenage girls in 2016. In that case, court heard Viau was subject to alleged vigilante action targeting his vehicle and business, as well as a Whyte Avenue poster campaign calling him a rapist.
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