A lawsuit brought against a B.C. Supreme Court Justice by a Prince George man he found guilty of a sexual offence only to see the verdict overturned on appeal has been dismissed.
Paul Peter Veeken alleged that Justice Lance Bernard "tossed aside his oath" and "misapprehended," "cherry-picked" and "fabricated evidence" in reaching his verdict.
But in a decision issued June 2, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barbara Young disagreed, saying she was not convinced by Veeken's submissions that Bernard "abandoned his judicial duties."
In February 2015, a jury found Veeken guilty of sexually interfering with a minor following a trial and he was subsequently sentenced to two years in jail. In September 2017, the outcome was overturned on appeal and a new trial ordered.
Bernard presided over the second trial in which Veeken was found guilty once again and sentenced to two years once more. But that verdict was also overturned on appeal and in January 2022, the proceeding concluded with a stay of proceeding.
Following the second conviction, Veeken applied for a release pending an appeal but was refused.
Veeken also named his bail supervisor as a defendant in the lawsuit, claiming in part that she imposed conditions over and above those ordered by the court by denying him permission to attend two funerals. Veeken also alleged she disclosed private information about him to various members of the public.
On that matter, Young found that while Veeken may have found the conditions harsh, they were put in place to protect the public.
Young also dismissed Veeken's allegation that he had been unlawfully detained during the time when his conviction had not yet been overturned and his sentence was still in effect.
Veeken had been seeking $4.8 million in general damages, $1.2 million in punitive and exemplary damages and $112,526 in special damages.
