SUNDAY
February 19, 199

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‘Special feature on
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ee at sole
Seeing tee
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Plymouth player

Monday: periods of sain,
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pa

PLYMOUTH ELEMENTARY School Grade 1 student Daniel Polanski
‘beams atop newly installed playground equipment in the school yard.

NV trial involved robber’s relationship with girl, 14

A CONVICTED armed robber
charged with five sex- and violence-
related charges allegedly involving a
14-year-old girl while he was staying
in a North Vancouver halfway house
was found not guilty on Friday.

By Anna Marie D'Angelo
News Reporter

William Lawrence Vigue, 35, flashed a
smile at four women who cheered in the North
Vancouver provincial courtroom when Judge
Bill Rodgers revealed the verdict.

One of the women, clad in a white sweater
and orange tights with metal studs down the
side, said she was Vigue’s fiancée.

“Gh. 1 want to give that judge a kiss,” she
said outside the courtroom before quickly leav-
ing.

Vigue was in jail at the time of the verdict as
his parole had been revoked by the parole board
in connection with an armed robbery convic-

tion, according to Crown lawyer James
Sutherland.

The charges Vigue was acquitted of
stemmed from a July 10, 1994, incident.

The charges included:

@ using a weapon during a sexual assault:

#1 attempting anal intercourse;

threatening to cause death or serious bodily
harm;

sexually touching a young person while in a
position of trust or authority;

® having a weapon (a knife) for a purpose dan-
gerous to the public peace.

Rodgers did not read his 14-page decision in
court, saying it was a “busy morning.”

He instead handed out copies to the Crown
and defence lawyers, causing media representi-
tives to scramble and appeal to the Crown
lawyer for copies outside the public courtroom.

During the four-day trial conducted over the
last two months, it was revealed that Vigue
knew the girl because she was a friend of his
stepdaughter. who lived in Coquitlam at the
time. ;

Vigue and the complainant met on the
evening in question while both were travelling
on the Skytrain. The two took the SeaBus to
North Vancouver and walked to the halfway
house. Vigue stopped to buy a six-pack of beer
on the way.

Vigue introduced the girl as his daughter to
halfway house staff. He snuck her upstairs to
the bedroom area, off limits to everyone except
residents.

Rodgers stated in his judgment reasons that
the girl had decided to spend the night with
Vigue in his bedroom on her own accord.

At issue during the trial was whether the girl
had consented to sexual activity. Her young age
in comparison to the age of the accused was not
an issue in the case.

The girl claimed that at around midnight
Vigue suddenly straddled her on the bed and
held a knife to her throat. She testified that
Vigue attempted to have anal intercourse with

See Halfway house page 3