An Alida couple was found guilty of evading more than $90,000 worth of income taxes between 2004 and 2008.
In Estevan provincial court on Monday, Judge Karl Bazin gave his decision following a trial that was held in December. Norman Desautels and his wife Dorothy-Anne were found guilty of all 12 charges they faced under the Income Tax Act, while Norman also found was guilty of four charges under the Excise Tax Act.
In reading his decision, Bazin called the Desautels "tax protesters" who are knowledgeable about the tax acts and said they took the position that the acts don't apply to them. He noted that their argument was based on the inability of the federal government to tax them, which he did not accept.
Bazin went over some of the numbers of the case, noting that they failed to claim income from 2004 to 2008 that allowed them to evade $90,679.80 in taxes. In that time, they also received $8,869 through a child-tax credit that they weren't entitled to.
The Crown prosecutor stayed some of the charges, but prosecuted Norman on four charges that cover each year tax was to be evaded and Dorothy with two.
When Bazin asked how the parties would like to proceed with sentencing, the Crown prosecutor noted that they may be seeking incarceration and requested a pre-sentence report be completed to look into the matter completely and review the issue of electronic monitoring.
The Desautels then addressed the court with their stance on the matter. They each said they do not consent to any contract offers by the Crown or accept the judgment of the court.
As part of her submission, Dorothy said, "God alone is the judge in God's kingdom," asking Bazin, "Do you exalt yourself above God?"
"Are you done now?" he replied.
She asked if it was through blasphemy that he was passing judgment on them, adding that "according to God's law, blasphemy is punishable by eternal damnation."
Bazin then asked the attending Estevan Police Service sergeant to remove the Desautels from the courtroom. The matter will return for sentencing on April 26.
In court proceedings from Feb. 23, Ayla Schachtel, who is charged with break and enter, and committing an indictable offence therein, stemming from an alleged home invasion incident last November, pleaded not guilty. She elected a trial at the Court of Queen's Bench with a judge and jury. A preliminary inquiry is scheduled for Aug. 9 to determine if there is enough evidence for the matter to go to trial.
It was also noted that there are two co-accused in the same matter, but they are not being jointly charged, so they don't need to be tried at the same time. Pleas have yet to be made by the two other accused.
Naiomi McArthur was scheduled to stand trial last Thursday, but she changed her plea to guilty on a charge of trafficking hash oil.
On April 29, 2011, McArthur approached two undercover cops at a local bar and discussed selling them hash oil. They arranged to meet outside the Elks hall, and she then led them to a private residence to buy marijuana. When the occupant wasn't home, she took them to Bienfait, where she picked up hash oil and sold one gram to the officers for $40.
McArthur is an unemployed single mother living on child support. She has no criminal record, and an eight-month conditional sentence order was asked for by both the defence and the Crown. The conditions include 20 hours of community service, a curfew from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., attending any necessary treatment for substance abuse, submitting to a search of her residence without reasonable grounds or warrant not more than three times per month and she was placed under a 10-year firearms prohibition.
