Man spent 5 months in jail before conviction quashed over concerns he was 'coerced' into plea

An Indigenous man who was allegedly "coerced" into pleading guilty to a serious sexual offence despite evidence that exonerated him walked out of the Calgary courthouse a free man after his new lawyer fought to get his conviction quashed. 

The southern Alberta resident, who can't be named due to a publication ban on the identity of the complainant, pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual interference in November. CBC News will identify him as GA. 

GA spent five months in jail before his new lawyer, Kirsten Lancee, brought her concerns to prosecutor Ryan Ziegler, who consented to the release in February while the two lawyers worked out how to handle the situation. 

On Wednesday, Lancee and Ziegler appeared in court before Justice Michelle Christopher. 

Lancee reviewed the history of the case for Christopher, who ultimately vacated the guilty plea and quashed GA's conviction.

GA, who was first represented by lawyer Brian Goldsworthy, pleaded guilty last fall. The plea was done with a Stoney language interpreter. 

The case had not yet made it to a sentencing hearing when Lancee, GA's new lawyer, was retained in late January. 

Lancee told Christopher that she was approached by the Stoney language interpreter who translated for GA at his guilty plea in November.

The interpreter, said Lancee, express concerns about the plea, indicating it was "not voluntary."

The interpreter provided Lancee with an affidavit based on her own conversations with the accused, his lawyer as well as conversations she overheard between Goldsworthy and GA on the day of the plea. 

"It's very clear that problems had arisen during the discussion of the agreed statement of facts that my client was coerced into accepting these facts and coerced into pleading guilty," said Lancee. 

Goldsworthy has denied any wrongdoing. 

"[GA's] admissions of guilt were voluntary," said Goldsworthy. "He was not under duress or coercion of any sort."

Lancee also learned GA "was in possession of important disclosure" — a recording of the complainant — which was handed over to the Crown and confirmed to be authentic.