Convictions Against Former Sarnia Fire Chief Overturned

Sarnia's former fire chief has won a major legal victory at the Ontario Court of Appeal. The province's highest court has overturned Pat Cayen's sexual assault-related convictions and he's released on bail pending a new trial, or trials. Cayen, 57, was sentenced to five years in prison in May 2015 after being convicted of 33 counts involving four young females. His lawyer Phillip Millar launched an appeal, arguing an error in law was made by mixing adult and youth indictments and allowing similar fact evidence to be applied to both cases. Millar says the appeal was successful. "The convictions are quashed, he gets released and bail pending new trial, and the Crown Attorney will decide how to proceed," says Millar. "There have to be two separate trials, one youth and one adult, they could proceed with both or not proceed with both or any mixture." Cayen was convicted in January 2015 of 19 counts as an adult involving a single victim, and 14 offences as a youth involving three victims. Millar says his client has said from the first day that he didn't do it. He says he expects it'll be a year before any new trial takes place, and he says he'll probably apply to move the proceedings to London, because of the publicity in Sarnia. -With files from Josh Boyce