This story previously ran on GuelphToday and EloraFergusToday.
Warning: This story contains details that some may find upsetting or triggering.
This is Emily Ager’s story and she wants you to hear it.
Ager, a Fergus resident, says the criminal justice system failed her and others after charges against the man accused of sexually assaulting her were stayed when his trial went longer than 18 months due to court staffing shortages. A trial at which she had already testified.
She says she is a victim of the system and a survivor of sexual assault. Just as important to her now, she doesn't want it to happen to others.
“So when this happened to me, it was like I need to do this. For this Emily and for that Emily … I need to and for all the other Emilys out there who can't,” said Ager.
Her ordeal started on Jan. 29, 2022.
Living in Toronto, she had two work acquaintances over at her condo, hanging out and socializing.
At some point she went to bed while the visitors, a man and a woman, were still up in the living room.
Ager testified that at some point she woke up with the male acquaintance on top of her and raping her.
It was the most horrific thing she could have imagined and was in a lot of physical pain in addition to the emotional turmoil.
After the acquaintance left her condo, she called family. Police and paramedics were also eventually called.
She said police launched into questions like 'were you raped? What happened? Tell us every detail?
With the support of her family she was able to give her statement and then went to hospital.
A few days later she was questioned by detectives for the case. The person accused of sexual assault was eventually arrested in February.
“And then from there, it was kind of just like, 'sweetie, you're on your own',” she said. “You know somebody will be in contact with you from Victim/Witness Assistance Program. But until that happens, just, you know, go back to your daily activities, and try to take care of yourself. That kind of thing,” said Ager.
Last May, while she was at a cottage with her family, she received a call from the Victim/Witness Assistance Program about the start of the trial.
When you’re trying to have a good time, put things behind you and it hits you, Ager said.
On the phone call they suggested some mental health supports and told her the defendant had his first appearance. They said they would let her know the status and if things move ahead.
The trial was eventually set for July 5 to 7, 2023.
“So that's amazing. We get it done. If there's no bumps, right, if there's no bumps in court? But they knew that there were these staffing shortages that had plagued the Ontario Court of Justice for the last little while. For the months leading up to that,” she said.
She talked to her parents prior to the only court trial appearance and after hearing how hard it is to convict in cases like this, she said she changed her mindset.
For Ager it’s about accountability. A big piece of rehabilitation is mental health and counselling.
On July 7 there was a courtroom available. Ager gave her testimony and she was cross-examined. Her saving grace was seeing the defendant at the Ontario Court of Justice lobby but he didn’t see her.
There is no amount of preparation that could have prepared her for seeing him again and having “to share these horrific intimate details,” Ager said.
She had requested and was granted a support dog for when she was in court.
The next two days of the trial were scheduled for Nov. 9 and 10.
After one court appearance at trial, there were several delays related to staffing shortages at the Toronto courthouse.
On Nov. 2 this year she was told the case had been stayed. A judge ruled that accused's right to a timely trial had been violated. It's known as the Jordan Rule: "a person charged with an offence has a right to a reasonable amount of time to be tried."
That "reasonable amount of time" is usually 18 months, barring extenuating circumstances.
“How come in nobody's head this 18 month precedent didn't come up?” Ager wondered. “And July we were already almost at 18 months. So who sat there and said ‘yep that's okay we'll take those dates. Let's go.'"
She said she knows the Crown doesn’t deal with staffing shortages but the 18 month rule could have been highlighted to her the day she was in court.
It would have been heartbreaking but at least she would have known sooner and not right before the case was expected to resume, said Ager.
The Crown told her they were sorry this happened but there was nothing they could do.
They told her it would be in her best interest to move on with her life, she said.
After hearing this her husband held her in his arms. Her life changed forever and she didn’t know how she would move on from it, she said.
“I was cloaked in darkness,” said Ager. “It was debilitating."
Elizabeth Kent, executive director of Victim Services Wellington said it can be extremely hard for someone to come forward to report a sexual assault.
“It's highly underrated or under reported. So for them to move forward in the process, and then have it thrown out is devastating to victims. And it certainly sends a message to other victims as to why anybody would … come forward,” said Kent.
Kent said in some cases it seems like the rights of the accused trumps the rights of the victim, acknowledging the court system is complicated.
In Ager’s case the trial started, she gave her testimony and was cross-examined, but the trial didn’t continue.
“But I don't really think it's fair to put victims through that,” said Kent. Whether it is a good or bad outcome going through the whole trial process, she said.
“At least they feel like they've been heard. But to go through that whole process, and then I have, have it taken away from you, because of a time delay, when that's out of your control is devastating,” Kent said.
In the last two years it hasn't been easy on Ager’s family and it was like they were all going through this, Ager said, adding they were also feeling failed by the system.
If the court proceedings continued and the defendant received a guilty or not guilty verdict, she said she wouldn’t have taken her story to the media.
“And I could hear from the judge why he came to that conclusion,” Ager said. “So it could provide some insight. That wouldn't be staff closures that caused this."
What stood out to Ager was the deputy Crown attorney told her she isn’t the only person this has happened to.
“This isn't just one isolated incident where they screwed up. It's multiple. People are not aware of this. This is a disgrace. This is … horrifying,” said Ager.
She said there are different pieces to this situation and the “finished product is going to have to be me.”
The week after she was assaulted she met her now husband and they moved to Fergus.
Toronto, where she lived for six years, “didn’t feel like home anymore.”
Everywhere she looked it was a reminder of what had happened and she didn't feel safe, she said.
Being in Toronto around so many people she felt she couldn’t trust anyone and in order for her to heal she needed to leave the place she was hurt in.
Ager said she might never get closure and she might have to get there on her own. It will be on her own timeline while recognizing “I’m not going to fit together the way that I used to.”
