Let’s cut to the chase. I’ve faced baseless, slanderous rumours in a politically-motivated attack. Here’s the real story.
In law, being charged with a crime is not the same as having committed it. That’s what “innocent until proven guilty” means.
In 2023 I was extradited to the United States to face false sexual assault charges. That extradition process didn’t take much – just one unproven accusation, with no evidence, no witnesses, and no corroboration. The accuser was a mentally ill young man, born a Meth baby, who was coached and pushed by a woman seeking revenge on me for evicting her from my house. That’s the real story behind what’s being passed around today: my unsuccessful fight against an extradition request. That’s the whole scurrilous attack on me.
I sat in custody for months because my California Public Defender had a huge caseload and couldn’t get to my case while busy with other trials. After months of delays I could wait no more; I hired a private attorney, which wiped out my savings.
But here’s the important part. My new attorney immediately petitioned the court for more subpoenas, including the young man’s medical records, his California Child Protective Services records, and his school records. It was in those school records that the truth came out: school psychologists had interviewed him many times, and he’d told them “there were voices in his head – bad people telling him to do bad things.”
When we went back to court, the District Attorney, who had also seen this new evidence, told the judge her office was dismissing the case “in the interest of justice.” She knew we had strong defense evidence and that she would lose at trial, and for any DA’s office, a loss hurts their conviction rate.
The ordeal was over. I was free to go. There had never been a case to answer.
That ordeal wiped out my entire retirement savings, and the trauma hurt not just me, but also my wife, parents, siblings, and children. Thankfully, I have an amazing circle of friends and colleagues from (literally) around the world, and they rallied to support us. My friends and colleagues raised $18,000 USD for us because they knew I was innocent, and without that support, we would likely have lost our house.
Today, I’m moving forward with my life, and one way I’m doing that is by running for a seat on Council, because our Council badly needs updating and I know I can help improve it.
When I filed my nomination papers, I swore an oath that I have no criminal record – and that’s true. I don’t have one, not in Canada and not in the United States. Suggesting otherwise is slander, plain and simple, and to protect my reputation, I’m prepared to sue anyone who spreads false information about me, in speech or in print.
Now that we’ve dealt with the rumours and slander, it’s time to get back to reality and the issues that matter to the people of Lanark Highlands in this election. Taxes keep rising while services get cut. Council meetings happen in secret, with no record of what was discussed or how anyone voted. Operating budgets get approved months late, and the Strategic Plan doesn’t contain a single actionable item – it’s all hat and no cattle.
Surely these issues matter more to Lanark Highlands ratepayers than my personal life and misfortunes.