A retired 73-year-old Chatham-Kent violin teacher convicted of several sex charges has withdrawn his appeal to the Supreme Court.
Claude Trachy was found guilty of dozens of sexual assault and indecent assault charges in July after the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned a 2018 acquittal by Justice Thomas Carey, who said there wasn't enough evidence presented at trial to convict the retired violin teacher. Carey agreed with the defence that Trachy had no sexual intent and got no sexual gratification when he touched the breasts of twenty female students while measuring for violin chin and shoulder rests. Justice Carey said there were no complaints before the investigation started and pointed out that students could have declined the measuring.
Trachy's acquittal was overturned after the Crown challenged the decision at a hearing in May of 2018, asking the court to convict Trachy on the sex charges or order a new trial.
The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in July that the trial judge “erred” in his decision to acquit Trachy on dozens of sex charges. Blackburn News has learned it's not the first time Justice Carey has been overturned by the appeals court.
The appeals panel determined that the trial judge confused the sexual purpose of the respondent with the sexual nature of the conduct.
“These were largely girls who were in the process of developing breasts, and who were alone with the respondent in a private room with the door closed,” the panel said in its ruling. “Their sexual integrity was violated, regardless of the respondent’s purpose. The acquittals on the sexual assault and indecent assault charges, therefore, cannot stand.”
The panel concluded that the “trial judge failed to give sufficient weight to the Crown’s evidence, such that he did not properly determine the respondent’s guilt or innocence.”
“[Trachy] agreed that he intentionally touched the breasts of his young female students,” the panel said. “They were too young to consent. He did not touch the boys’ chests, nor did he touch the breasts of his own daughter. The sexual integrity of the complainants was violated. But for the error by the trial judge, the concrete reality of this case establishes proof of the sexual and indecent nature of the touching beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Trachy's defence lawyer, Ken Marley, said his client withdrew the appeal a couple of days ago.
"I don't have all the details but it could be due to money or anxiety," said Marley.
Sentencing for Trachy will be held in Chatham court but a date has not been set yet.
Trachy was charged in 2015 with indecent assault, sexual assault, sexual interference and sexual exploitation involving 25 former students in incidents that took place between 1971 and 1993. The charges stemmed from complaints by more than 20 former female students who testified the former violin teacher touched their breasts while measuring for violin chin and shoulder rests.
Trachy began teaching the violin as a teenager in 1960 and continued up until his retirement in 2009.