Pemberton's Roger Molinaro has been found guilty on three charges stemming from historic sexual assaults involving two girls he was once close to.
In a June 25 decision at Pemberton Provincial Court, Justice Lyndsay Smith found Molinaro guilty of one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching of a person under the age of 16 involving complainant Katelyn Pidperyhora. He was also convicted of one count of sexual assault against Xiola Aldrich.
Molinaro was acquitted on several other charges, including sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, and additional counts of sexual assault.
“I found both witnesses to be balanced. I found them to accept differences in prior recitations of the incidents without confrontation,” Smith said, referring to the testimonies of Aldrich and Pidperyhora.
Defence lawyer Tony Paisana argued during the trial their testimonies were inconsistent, unreliable and implausible.
Smith disagreed, noting inconsistent memory over time was “neither surprising nor material.”
In her oral ruling, Smith emphasized the longstanding relationship between the families, noting the complainants had regular and extended access to Molinaro through shared childcare duties and family friendships.
“I have, based on my consideration of the evidence, rejected the notion that [Aldrich] fabricated these allegations motivated by greed or animosity held by her against Roger Molinaro, who I find that she loved and trusted in a manner that was distorted by him by his treatment of her,” Smith said.
The defence also argued Aldrich’s mental health was a factor that undermined her credibility, which the judge rejected.
“She was candid about her mental-health challenges… She is a credible and reliable witness and I accept her evidence of being touched by Roger Molinaro,” Smith said.
In Aldrich’s case, the judge found sexual assaults had occurred, but said the timing of some events could not be established beyond a reasonable doubt. As a result, Smith said it would be unsafe to convict Molinaro on the remaining counts without precise evidence about when they took place.
Molinaro originally faced five charges related to Aldrich: one count each of sexual assault, sexual touching of a person under 14, and sexual touching of a person under 16, along with two counts of invitation to sexual touching.
He also faced two charges related to Pidperyhora—one count of sexual assault and one of sexual touching of a person under 16—both of which Smith found him guilty of.
In her ruling, Smith said Pidperyhora’s testimony also showed her to be a reliable and credible witness. The judge rejected the idea Pidperyhora fabricated her claims, and found the charges “[did] not seem unlikely, unreasonable or unprobable, given the trust that was established between the families.”
At his first trial in November 2021, Molinaro was convicted on all seven counts and sentenced to five and a half years in prison in August 2022. However, his legal team successfully appealed in 2023, leading the 小蓝视频 Court of Appeal to overturn the convictions on Dec. 11. One charge resulted in an acquittal, while the remaining six were sent back for a new trial.
The matter has been adjourned to a judicial case manager, with sentencing expected to take place in Pemberton.
