CALGARY — A Calgary woman has been handed an 18-month conditional sentence for trying to bribe a juror in her husband's sex assault trial.
Erica Levin, who is 71, cried as the judge also ordered her to perform 180 hours of community service.
The senior was convicted last year on a charge of obstruction of justice.
A juror testified that she was offered $1,000 to find Dr. Aubrey Levin not guilty during his trial in 2013.
The psychiatrist was eventually convicted on three counts of sexual assault against male patients.
He was sentenced to five years in prison.
Jurors at Erica Levin's trial were shown surveillance video of her approaching the juror at a light-rail transit platform near the courthouse and giving her a note.
Levin told court the note did not contain money, but a suicide note. She testified she had gone to the station to throw herself in front of a train, but decided not to kill herself when she realized she needed to take care of her cat.
The Crown accused her of lying and pointed out that she had other opportunities to kill herself if she had wanted to.
Allegations against her husband surfaced in 2010 after a patient stepped forward with secret videos. Aubrey Levin, who immigrated to Canada from South Africa, was frequently used by the courts to assess people and provide expert opinions at hearings.
The patient was on probation at the time the videos were taken and had been ordered by a court to see Levin twice a month.
He said he had told authorities about previous assaults but no one believed him. So he bought a spy camera and took it to his appointments.
