VANCOUVER — A British Columbia man wrongfully imprisoned for sexual assault has been awarded $8 million by a court after spending 27 years behind bars.
Ivan Henry sued the City of Vancouver, the province and the federal government after he was acquitted in 2010 of 10 sexual-assault convictions.
In a ruling released today, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Hinkson said Henry would likely have been acquitted during the 1983 trial had he received the disclosure to which he was entitled.
Hinkson writes that Crown's decision to intentionally withhold information demonstrated a "shocking disregard" for his rights and "seriously infringed" on his right to a fair trial.
Henry’s lawyer, John Laxton, had argued that his client deserved as much as $43 million in compensation.
The City of Vancouver and the federal government settled earlier with Henry in 2015 for undisclosed amounts.
