Roommate torturer Dustin Paxton denied bid to appeal conviction to Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Canada says Dustin Paxton cannot appeal his conviction for torturing his roommate in Calgary and Saskatchewan.

As is customary, the court gave no reason for its decision.

Paxton was declared a dangerous offender and given an indeterminate sentence in 2012 after he was convicted of aggravated and sexual assault against his roommate and business partner over an 18-month period.

In 2008 the pair moved from Winnipeg to Calgary to start a moving business together.

In 2010, Paxton dropped off his roommateat a Regina hospital weighing just 87 pounds, disfigured from daily beatings and suffering from permanent brain injuries. The mancannot be named because he's a victim of sexual assault.

In November 2016, the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld Paxton's convictions, rejecting his lawyers' arguments that the trial judge should not have found thatPaxtonwas guilty of sexualassault because his roommate's testimony was vague and based on "perceptions," not detailed memories.

The Court of Appeal panel found that Paxton had created an atmosphere in which the victim "was required to provide total obedience through physical and psychological control of this vulnerable person."

"The evidence supports this fear, even if threats were conveyed by gesture rather than orally."

The Supreme Court noted in its release Thursday that, at the conclusion of the trial, Paxton unsuccessfully filed an application to stay proceedings based on four main grounds, including 35 sub-grounds.

They weremostly related to the late disclosure of some documents and to the means of interviewing witnesses used by the Calgary Police Service.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Sheilah Martin rejected all of the alleged grounds for a stay and gave extensive written reasons for her decisions, the high court noted.

The Supreme Court noted that Martin had concluded that, while there were a few instances of late but remedied disclosure, "Mr. Paxton had sustained no resulting prejudice."

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