Appeal denied for convicted Alberta sexual predator

Note: The following story may be disturbing for some readers.

An appeal has been dismissed for Michel Frank Bouvier, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl between October 2016 and May 2017 after he stayed at a home in Maskwacis with the victim. 

Bouvier, then 54, unlawfully left a halfway house in Edmonton while subject to a 10-year long term supervision order. He has a long criminal record.

He was invited to stay at a residence in Maskwacis, and soon after, the assaults on the 15-year-old victim began. Over a seven-month period, the girl was reported missing several times as she left home to meet Bouvier secretly at locations in Alberta, B.C., and Saskatchewan.

According to court documents, the victim stated she believed she was married to Bouvier and was obligated to have sex with him. Bouvier had called himself a "medicine man."

Bouvier was convicted of two counts of sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm and common assault.

The appeal argued the trial judge made errors in their interpretation and application of the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and that the verdict was unreasonable.

The panel determined the arguments were insufficient and dismissed the appeal. The decision was filed on April 12. 

No decision yet on murder sentence appeal

The Alberta Court of Appeal has not yet reached a decision in a sentence appeal heard last month in a first/second-degree murder case of a Montana First Nation man. 

Dylon Samuel Saddleback was sentenced to life in December, 2022, for the slaying of Joshua Blain Dennehy, 23, on July 28, 2020.

The appeal was heard in Edmonton on April 4, however, the court reserved its decision. "Reserving" a decision means a decision isn't immediately given after a case is argued, but is kept under consideration by a judge or panel until a later date. 

The Canadian Judicial Council has ruled that in most circumstances, reserved judgments should be delivered within six months after hearings. 

On July 28, 2020, EMS and Maskwacis RCMP responded to a severely injured male outside of a residence on Montana First Nation. Dennehy was declared deceased on the scene. 

A court document on Saddleback's appeal states the Crown presented a ‘substantial body of evidence’ in support of the guilty verdict. 
The appeal claimed the trial judge’s reasons were inadequate and challenged the findings of fact relating to the cross-examination of expert witnesses.