Judge convicts trio in torture of man lured to northeast Calgary home

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One of three suspects in the brutal beating and sexual assault of a Calgary man in a northeast home broke down in tears Monday as a judge found her guilty for her role in the attack.

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Christina Schollen looked at her partner in the courtroom gallery and began to cry as Judge Charlene Anderson ruled she was more than a passive party to the torture of their victim.

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Anderson found Schollen, Carol Nordvall and Richard Wayne Parsons guilty of multiple charges in connection with the April 15, 2019, attack at a home in Bridgeland, where the victim was lured under the promise of sex for money.

But moments after entering the residence after Schollen was led off the street, the victim, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, was jumped.

Anderson ruled that Schollen was aware of the planned attack and therefore a party to the aggravated assault that occurred.

The victim was beaten with fists and what he believed to be a fish mouth by three men, including Parsons, before being tied up and dragged to the basement.

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There the assault continued, where he was burned with cigarettes, repeatedly hit by Parsons with a wrench and kicked in the face.

At one point, Nordvall cut the back of the victim’s jeans before sexually assaulting him both anally and orally with a sex toy.

Anderson found Nordvall and Parsons guilty of multiple charges, the most serious of which are aggravated assault and sexual assault with a weapon.

Crown prosecutor Todd Buziak stayed a charge of sexual assault against Schollen last week after the victim testified she did not participate in the attack in the basement.

Defense attorneys Adriano Iovinelli, Kelsey Sitar and Shelley Moore argued the victim’s testimony was not credible and Anderson should have a reasonable doubt about what happened in the Thomson Ave. NE house happened.

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But the judge of the Court of King’s Bench agreed with Buziak that there was enough evidence to convict all three.

“The physical evidence is consistent with (the victim’s) evidence,” Anderson said.

“I agree with the Crown there is substantial corroborating evidence to support (his) testimony.”

Among those pieces of evidence were the victim’s torn jeans, which the police later found in the house and video on a cell phone showing part of the sexual abuse.

Electronic bank transfers to Nordvall’s account from the victim totaling $12,000 also supported his testimony.

“Watching the violence on the video leaves no doubt as to why (the victim) would have provided the passwords (to his accounts),” she said.

All three offenders remain at large pending a sentencing hearing.

The case is back in court on Friday for scheduling.

KMartin@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @KMartinCourts