WARNING: This article references a criminal sexual assault trial which may be disturbing to some readers. If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, contact Archway Society for Domestic Peace at 250-542-1122. All programs are easily accessible, free of charge and confidential.
Former Vernon hockey coach and businessman Keith Chase was meant to learn whether he had been found guilty or not guilty in his sexual assault retrial today, Jan. 31, but the judge's decision was pushed back to next week.
Lawyers in the case appeared at the Vernon Law Courts Friday morning and the matter was adjourned to Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 10 a.m. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan, who has presided over the retrial, was not present in the courtroom Friday.
Chase, the owner of Chasers Bottle Depot in Vernon, is accused of sexually assaulting the complainant in the case when she was 16 and playing on the hockey team Chase coached in 2004.
Chase was charged in 2020 and after pleading not guilty was convicted of the sexual assault in 2022, and sentenced to nearly two years in jail. He appealed the conviction, arguing the trial judge erred by failing to properly consider inconsistencies between the complainant's police statement and her trial testimony. The appeal was granted and a retrial was ordered.
Chase's second trial concluded in December with Justice Donegan reserving her decision for a later date.
A report on the conclusion of the retrial can be read at vernonmorningstar.com.
