A Surrey man served four years in jail for a sex assault he may not have committed due to what the criminal justice branch is calling “a miscarriage of justice.”
Gurdev Singh Dhillon was alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman in 2004 and was sentenced to four years in jail in 2005.
Appeals to both sentence and conviction were dismissed in 2006.
However, in 2011, Crown counsel learned of the existence of material evidence that had not been disclosed by police.
Special prosecutor Peter Wilson was appointed and Delta Police took over the investigation from RCMP.
Wilson has now approved new charges of sexual assault against both Mohammed Zaaid Ukhttar and Sital Singh Bhatti.
A B.C. Criminal Justice Branch investigation concluded Wednesday that there had been a “miscarriage of justice” in the Dhillon case.
“This conclusion relates to the fairness of Mr. Dhillon’s trial based on non-disclosure to him of material evidence,” a justice branch release said.
“I recognize, and understand, that the general public will have concerns about this incident,” said Surrey RCMP Officer in Charge Bill Fordy in a release on Wednesday. “I share those concerns and deeply regret the impacts these mistakes may have had on all those involved. As the Officer in Charge of the Surrey RCMP, I apologize for the mistakes that were made.”
Neither Crown nor police would comment further as the matter is currently before the courts.
The criminal justice branch said it is now up to Dhillon and his attorney to apply to have his conviction set aside.