Rape survivor 'floored' by her attacker's Jordan appeal

A rapist twice convicted of sexual assault will appear in a Brockville, Ont., courtroom Thursday and attempt to use a Charter challenge to have the case against him stayed.

In November, an Ontario court judge rejected Ryan Hartman's sexsomnia defence and found him guilty of sexual assault a second time.

Sentencing is scheduled to take place Jan. 24, but it's now unclear whether thatwill happen as planned.

The Ministry of the Attorney General confirmed Monday that an applicationfor a stay of proceedings due to unreasonable delay is before the courts. It was filed Jan. 17.

Hartman is set to argue his right to a timely trial was violated.

First convicted in 2012

The 38-year-old was first charged with sexual assault in 2011 and found guilty in 2012. On his second appeal in 2015, he won a new trial and argued he was not criminally responsible because of a mentaldisorder.

I was in tears. I was just floored ... I thought this was over andit's not.- Rape survivor

Hartman admitted to pulling down the pants of a womanand anally penetrating her while she was asleep onan air mattress at a house party.

DefencelawyerMargaret Bojanowskaargued Hartmanwas unaware of what he was doing because he was asleep at the time.

Justice Kimberly Moore ruled that Hartman failed to prove he had sexsomnia, and attributed his inability to remember his actions to an alcohol-relatedblackout.

Charter challenge may have merit

Ottawa defence lawyerMark Ertel saidthe second trial does appearto have taken an unusually long time.

Hartman's second trial began inApril 2017, andthe judge didn't make her ruling until November 2018 a span of 20 months.

Under what's come to be known astheJordan ruling, the Supreme Court placeda presumptive ceiling of 18 months on cases triedin provincial court.

"[Twenty months in this case is]well in excess of the Jordan guidelines, on the face of it," Ertel said.

"It's a very long time for a decision to be rendered, and for that delay not to count in the Jordan calculation,the Crown would have to persuade the court that there was something so complex about the case that it would require that much time for the judge to give a decision."

'Doesn't want to take responsibility,' womansays

The Ottawa-area woman at the centre of the case who cannot be identified because of a court-ordered publication ban found out about her attacker'sJordan applicationlast Friday after asocial worker withvictim's services left her a voicemail.

"I listened to it and immediately my heart was racing. I was in tears. I was just floored," the 31-year-old said.

"In my head all I could think of was, I thought this was over and it's not."

• Survivor worries about attacker's sexsomnia defence

Since she was attacked in 2011, the woman has dealt withtwo trials and two appeals.

She was almost finished writing her victim impact statement when she found out about the Jordan application.

Her initial victim impact statementwas written ina spirit of forgiveness and with thehope that Hartman would be rehabilitated.But she saidhis decision to pursue a stay of proceedingshas made it clear to her that hehas no remorse.

"My perspective over the last several months has been, I hope he gets the help he needs. But you know what? After the call on Fridayit was just like ... he's showing no remorse whatsoever," she said.

"You know he doesn't want to take responsibility for the decision that he made eight years ago."