Ex-provincial prosecutor rips former colleagues’ handling of his own extortion case

Tim O’Brien pulled no punches when it came time to give his victim impact statement in front of a courtroom full of supporters on Wednesday.

The former provincial Crown prosecutor — and current federal Crown prosecutor — was the victim in an extortion case stemming from a false allegation of sexual assault in 2023.

Despite his wishes, the case was prosecuted by his former colleagues and not given to an outside agency.

“My friends and colleagues at the provincial Crown would be tasked with taking this matter to court,” he said. “They would see me speaking with police, explaining what happened and outlining my alibi, sitting on the same black couch in the same RNC interview room we routinely watched for hours when reviewing disclosure.”

In early 2023, O’Brien was the prosecutor on a case involving a man accused of sexually and physically abusing his wife  — a teenager at the time  — over the course of several years. 

CBC News cannot name the woman due to a publication ban in the case against her husband.

According to the agreed statement of facts, the young woman came to O’Brien and told him she no longer wanted to proceed with trial, saying she lied about the allegations. They met twice, both times in the presence of a victim services worker.

After O’Brien told her he still intended to proceed with the trial against her partner, she sent him an email threatening to tell the police he sexually assaulted her during one of their meetings.

O’Brien immediately flagged the email to his boss, who notified the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.

That sparked a pair of criminal investigations — one into O’Brien for sexual assault, and one into the woman for extortion.

“I was advised that because of the nature of your allegations, I would be investigated by the RNC as a suspect in a sexual assault,” O’Brien said in his victim impact statement. 

“The embarrassment of being investigated by officers I regularly dealt with in the course of my work was unimaginable. When I provided my statement in relation to this matter, the officer read me my rights and caution and advised me that anything I said could be used as evidence in the investigation into your yet unproven report of sexual assault.”

Police also took a statement from the victim services worker who was present for both meetings, including one where O’Brien and the woman were on opposite sides of a plexiglass barrier. She told police nothing untoward happened in either meeting.

Months passed before the investigators came to a conclusion. They arrested the woman and charged her with three offences — extortion, unlawfully intimidating a justice system participant and public mischief by making false statements.

According to O’Brien’s victim impact statement, a decision was made not to outsource the prosecution to another agency — something occasionally done to avoid conflicts of interest.

He hoped the case would be handled “quietly and discreetly.” However, he said information soon leaked out to his friends and colleagues around the office, as well as in his former office with Legal Aid.

The case was handled by veteran prosecutor Kathleen O’Reilly. It was sent to mental health court — an avenue typically reserved for minor cases where there’s a link between an accused’s mental health and the commission of the offence. 

According to the provincial court website, mental health court “deals with criminal offences that do not raise an overriding public interest in proceeding.”

O’Brien said his own wellbeing has been an “afterthought” throughout the process, and said he’s been treated with “a lack of respect from participants in this process who have become aware of the strain this court process has had on my mental health.”

O’Reilly first went before Judge Lori Marshall in an attempt to give sentencing submissions last month.

However, Marshall recused herself from the case when she realized the Tim O’Brien listed in court documents was the same Tim O’Brien who frequently appears in her courtroom as a prosecutor.

Arrangements were made to have the case heard in front of Judge Kymil Howe in Corner Brook by video call on Wednesday.

There, O’Reilly told the court the Crown was withdrawing the extortion charge and proceeding with the other two charges. She asked for 90 days of house arrest and two years probation.

Defence lawyer Jon Noonan agreed with the request, saying the woman only extorted O’Brien because she was forced by her former partner.

His charges were ultimately stayed after O’Brien was removed as the prosecutor.

“There are no winners,” Noonan told the court. “Perhaps her partner at the time, and that’s an understatement.”

The woman — who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder — apologized to O’Brien, reading a brief message from a handwritten note.

“I wanted to say I am truly sorry for my actions and the harm they caused,” she said. “I take full responsibility and acknowledge it was wrong. I hope you can forgive me.”

O’Brien said he isn’t there yet, but hopes he can someday forgive her.

Judge Howe will make her decision on April 16, noting she may not necessarily side with the submissions presented by the Crown and defence.

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