A judicial stay of proceedings has been made in the sexual-assault case connected to Because We Are Girls, prompting one of three sisters profiled in the new documentary movie to send a four-minute video message to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
A Surrey-area family is the focus of the film, which debuted in May and documents the abuse of three sisters who grew up in Williams Lake decades ago.
Cloverdale resident Jeeti Pooni reacts to the court decision in a video posted to her social media channels Tuesday.
The movie chronicles the sisterssa国际传媒� account of childhood abuse.
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sa国际传媒淢y sisters and I chose to go through the criminal justice system to try and stop our abuser from harming other girls,sa国际传媒� Pooni says in the video. sa国际传媒淚t was a 12-year journey. All I can say is the criminal justice system is so broken sa国际传媒� itsa国际传媒檚 a broken, dinosaur system.
sa国际传媒淵esterday, a very important decision came down in our ,sa国际传媒� she says.
sa国际传媒淥ur case was stayed, meaning the charges were dropped, there will be no sentencing, even though our abuser was found guilty last year, April 6, 2018, for four out of six counts,sa国际传媒� including two counts of indecent assault, one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual intercourse without consent.
On Monday, a judge ruled that excessive court delays prevented the accused, Manjit Singh Virk, from getting a fair trial.
In the video posted to social media, Pooni says she doesnsa国际传媒檛 blame those who sa国际传媒渄onsa国际传媒檛 come forward, those that have been horrifically harmed by rape and sexual assault. I donsa国际传媒檛 blame them for staying silent.sa国际传媒�
She says going through the justice sa国际传媒渕ade my sisters and I feel, at the time, that we were unworthy, we didnsa国际传媒檛 matter, we were very disrespected, humiliated, and the process was very dehumanizing and extremely traumatizing, and it re-traumatized us over and over again over the past eight years the court has been trying our case.sa国际传媒�
She calls on Crown Counsel to appeal the decision, and for an inquiry into the case sa国际传媒渢o help answer questions of all the wrongs, of all the delays that were offered to defense, all the adjournments, countless adjournments, that left my sisters and I shattered, time and time again.sa国际传媒�
She asks to sa国际传媒渟it downsa国际传媒� with Trudeau, sa国际传媒渟o that you and your government can help enable those of us that have been harmed, and those of us who have been violated, help us live better, prosperous lives.
sa国际传媒淲e need special sexual-assault courts that deal with crimes of rape and these heinous violations,sa国际传媒� she adds.
sa国际传媒淲e Canadians, even those of us who have been harmed, deserve a better justice system.sa国际传媒�
Three years in the making, the Baljit Sangra-directed Because We Are Girls had its world premiere during Torontosa国际传媒檚 Hot Docs film festival in early May, and days later opened the DOXA Documentary Film Festival in Vancouver.
The movie reveals how the girls felt they couldnsa国际传媒檛 tell anyone about the abuse, for fear of sa国际传媒渂eing shipped off to Indiasa国际传媒� and being shunned for what happened.
sa国际传媒淭he biggest advantage he had was he knew wesa国际传媒檇 keep our mouths shut,sa国际传媒� one of the sisters says of the accused, whose identity is kept out of the film.
sa国际传媒淎ny mention of him, there was no place in the film, no need,sa国际传媒� Jeeti told the Now-Leader in April. sa国际传媒淎t the time the film was being shot, the court case was proceeding, so there were things we couldnsa国际传媒檛 share, but now that itsa国际传媒檚 all wrapping up, I think the important thing is that this story is not about him, itsa国际传媒檚 about the resilience of my sisters and I, and stepping into our power and standing up for ourselves and sharing our truth, no matter if wesa国际传媒檙e believed or not.
sa国际传媒淭he story is more about that, and also when you see my daughters in the film, thatsa国际传媒檚 when it should really hit home that my sisters and I were once little girls just like that, right. Itsa国际传媒檚 to show that innocence and wake up the community to stop blaming the girls and the women.sa国际传媒�
On Thursday, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) announced that its film, Because We Are Girls, will play at Vancouversa国际传媒檚 Vancity Theatre between July 5 and 11, for five screenings. .
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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