Judge denies bail to accused in domestic assaults

A Waywayseecappo First Nation woman reported being assaulted for the second time by an intimate partner after a delay in authorizing the first assault charge meant protective conditions weren’t ordered for her safety.

The 40-year-old man accused of assaulting the woman had his first appearance in Brandon provincial court on Thursday for a charge of assault cause bodily harm from a November 2023 incident, in addition to a recent assault charge in August.

The Sun is not naming the Waywayseecappo First Nation man, who was denied bail during his court hearing, to protect the identity of the intimate partner.

Crown attorney Melania Cannon said police did not send details on the first charge to her office until May 2025, and it wasn’t authorized by another Crown attorney until this year.

“I was the assigned Crown during that time, and I was dealing with many charges involving (the accused),” she said.

“I don’t recall having (it) being filed or having access to it…. I can’t tell from just looking here what the issue was with it, but that was the situation,” Cannon said while looking at her laptop.

Although it’s a dated allegation, there’s a statement to police and medical evidence to corroborate the injuries, she said.

Cannon said she was opposed to the man, who appeared in court virtually from the Brandon Correctional Centre, being released on bail as he poses a risk to reoffend against the victim or others in the community.

In the November 2023 incident, police were called to an area in the community and saw the woman walking on the road with a visible limp. She was taken to the Russell Health Centre for medical treatment.

The woman was reluctant to provide a statement to police until January 2024, Cannon said.

“She said that he had pushed her down the stairs and then stomped on her foot once or twice, after which he went upstairs and she was able to leave the residence,” she said.

Medical records show the woman’s foot was broken in two locations.

The second allegation of assault occurred on Aug. 26 in Waywayseecappo First Nation.

Manitoba First Nations police were called to a house to assist paramedics around 6 p.m. When officers arrived, the woman reported she had been assaulted the week before when she got into an argument with the accused at his mother’s home.

The woman told officers he pushed her, causing her to fall on her tailbone and hit her head.

“She said that she had a previous head injury and that falling down caused her to lose consciousness,” Cannon said.

“She left the residence and headed to the Russell hospital after experiencing dizziness, which she believed was caused by the assault.”

Police were unable to locate the accused at the time.

Cannon said the man and woman have had an on-and-off-again relationship for approximately 16 years and they have children together.

The accused “repeatedly and consistently, and throughout many, many years, has been engaging in this kind of intimate partner violence with the same individual multiple times,” Cannon said.

Tesia Romaniw, an articling student with Eric Wach Law Corporation — a criminal defence law firm — proposed a bail plan that would see the accused reside in the community with his mother.

The plan included additional financial conditions, a curfew and an order not to contact the victim or attend her home.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said the delayed authorization of the initial charge was “concerning” given there’s an allegation of a serious assault and the victim should have been protected by conditions placed on the accused.

“The seriousness is obvious here. We’ve got two alleged assaults involving the same intimate partner,” she said.

“I’m particularly concerned about protection of the complainant in this matter.”

Hewitt-Michta said the defence presented a strong bail plan, but the weakness was in the condition he would reside in the same community as the victim, so she denied his release.

The man was ordered not to have any contact with the victim. His next court date is Oct. 7.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com