Cleared of child sex charge

Photo: Flickr - Kennuth

A man left reeling by a child-sex conviction has been cleared after his step-granddaughter recanted, saying she was forced to make up the story by another family member.

The New Brunswick Court of Appeal set aside the 2011 conviction of the man, who was sentenced to four months in prison and 18 months probation for sexual interference involving his 12-year-old step-granddaughter.

The young complainant testified at the trial that he touched her vagina several times, allegations the man denied in court and which were also shown to have inconsistencies that were not properly handled by the trial judge.

The case returned to court Thursday after affidavits showed the complainant, now 17, admitted she made up the story because her paternal grandmother repeatedly told her that he sexually abused her and pressured her to tell that story in court.

The affidavits reveal that the complainant's parents were going through a bitter separation at the time and her father's family had turned her against her mother.

The man, who is not identified in the court proceedings, says the conviction has left him feeling "despised" by family members and his community because he has been deemed a sex offender.