A judge has acquitted a former University of Manitoba wrestler of sexually assaulting and molesting a 15-year-old girl.
Terry Nixon, 39, smiled and shook hands with his lawyers following the verdict by Justice Nate Nurgitz yesterday afternoon. Nurgitz said he did not find the now 21-year-old alleged victim to be a credible witness. Nixon was charged with one count of sexual assault and two counts of sexual exploitation in connection with incidents alleged to have occurred in November 2001 and March 2002. The woman testified Monday she was sexually assaulted while participating in a university wrestling program. She claimed she later reported the incidents to wrestling officials who pressured her to keep the allegations quiet.
Court heard Nixon was not a coach with the program, but assisted with practices and often drove wrestlers to tournaments. The woman told court Nixon exposed himself on a university stairwell and asked her to perform oral sex on him when she was 15. On a later occasion, Nixon invited her inside his home, locked the door and groped her breasts, she testified. Nurgitz said at the time of the first incident, the girl’s grandparents would have been present in the building, as she was not old enough to drive herself home. “It’s hard to believe this could have happened with them there,” Nurgitz said. The woman said the incident left her riddled with guilt and shame. She testified she later accompanied Nixon in his car to his St. Boniface home so she could get change for a fundraising drive. “I am unable to get anywhere close to reconciling her guilt and shame with her getting in the car with him,” Nurgitz said.
Nixon testified in his own defence yesterday and denied ever being alone with the woman.
