An arrest warrant has been issued for a former Victoria licensed practical nurse convicted of assaulting three residents of the Selkirk Seniors Village.
James Edward Christie was sentenced to six months in jail followed by 18 months of probation on Nov. 9, 2016.
The following day, his defence lawyer, Geof Simair, filed a notice of appeal against the conviction and the sentence. Christie was released from the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre a week later on $1,000 bail without any sureties. His bail conditions did not require him to surrender his passport or to remain in B.C.
The warrant for Christie’s arrest, issued Oct. 10, 2017, says there are reasonable and probable grounds to believe that Christie has “violated or is about to violate the recognizance upon which he was released.” It instructs police to arrest Christie and bring him before any judge in the province.
A family member of one of the victims, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban on the victims’ identities, said Crown counsel told them that Christie had fled and police don’t know where he is.
The case is scheduled to be in B.C. Supreme Court next week, Simair said. “I expect Mr. Christie’s situation will be discussed then,” he said.
Christie’s appeal began in May but has been repeatedly delayed because of the difficulties in trying to get a continuation date.
The B.C. Prosecution Service said it was unable to comment on Friday, but might be able to provide further information next week.
Provincial court Judge Lisa Mrozinski found Christie struck and used uninvited and unnecessary force against the three patients, who were bedridden and in advanced states of dementia in April and May 2015.
“You struck at the private parts of two of the victims, causing them obvious pain. You caused the third victim to moan when you pressed your torso into her face, which you had covered with a blanket,” Mrozinski said.
“These acts were intentional, cruel and, quite frankly, sadistic in their nature. The residents you assaulted were the most vulnerable of an otherwise vulnerable population.”
In his notice of appeal, Simair asked the court to set aside the guilty verdict and enter an acquittal, or to order a new trial. Failing that, he is asking that the jail sentence be converted to a conditional sentence of between 12 and 18 months.
In the two-page notice, Simair said the conviction was unreasonable and not supported by the evidence. He said the judge erred in applying the standard of proof where witness credibility was a key issue, and erred in failing to weigh or consider Christie’s evidence.
The judge also erred in refusing to order a conditional sentence, he said, adding that the sentence was harsh and excessive.
Christie, 26, had no previous criminal record. His nursing licence has been suspended and he was taking a degree in business.
