Accused abuser’s trial will reveal ‘sexual violence on an unrelenting scale,’ Crown tells court

WARNING: This story includes graphic descriptions of sexual violence.

Evidence from 28 complainants who allege Michael Haaima preyed upon them — some when they were teen girls — will reveal a “predatory system of sexual violence,” the Crown told court as his trial began Thursday in Kingston, Ont.

Assistant Crown attorney Megan Williams told the Superior Court of Justice she intends to show the pattern of alleged abuse was driven by the accused’s need for control and an “unrelenting interest in sexual activity with a child.”

Haaima, now 40, faces 98 charges for alleged incidents dating back between 2007 and 2022, when he was arrested.

The indictment lists more than 30 counts of sexual assault, several of which are alleged to have involved choking or weapons including a belt, a paddle and a screwdriver.

Haaima also faces multiple charges for allegedly accessing and making child pornography.

“This is a case about sexual violence on an unrelenting scale,” Williams said in her opening statement. “It is about Mr. Haaima’s predatory collection of young women and teenaged girls to be used for his sexual domination, fuelled by his violent and pedophilic sexual urges.”

The defence did not making an opening statement as the trial began Thursday.

Haaima, who appeared in court wearing a grey suit and glasses, could be seen shaking his head as the Crown lawyer read her statement.

The list of charges was so long that Haaima’s lawyer Natasha Calvinho asked that she and her client be allowed to sit while it was read out. It took more than 40 minutes, with two members of the court staff taking turns reading 10 counts at a time.

Ninety-six times Haaima pleaded not guilty. He pleaded guilty only to the final two charges, for breaching a non-contact order after he was already in custody.

The investigation began in January 2022. Prior to his arrest, Haaima worked in Kingston’s tech sector.

Williams, the Crown lawyer, said the allegations against him could be divided into two broad time frames.

The first, spanning 2007 to 2010, involved seven women and allegedly saw Haaima “taking advantage of access” he had to them through selling marijuana.

The other 21 complainants encountered the accused between 2016 and 2022, after being targeted through social media platforms including dating app Tindr, according to the Crown.

The identities of all the victims are shielded by a standard publication ban.

Williams told court Haaima’s alleged pattern of abuse began with him presenting as a “nice guy,” offering his alleged victims alcohol and marijuana before a sudden “escalation to sexual violence” including voyeurism and filming.

Some of the women are expected to testify they were choked into unconsciousness, she told the court. They’ll also testify Haaima forced complainants to call him “daddy” and act like a schoolgirl, a child or a baby.

The Crown said Haaima would also expose alleged victims to child pornography during sexual encounters, sometimes grabbing them by the hair and forcing them to watch it.

Williams alleged Haaima also forced one victim, who was then under the age of consent, to engage in sexual activity with other men while he watched, describing that as falling under the “broad umbrella of human trafficking.”

“Eventually, his purpose evolved to soliciting some of the young women to facilitate his access to a young child for a sexual purpose,” she told court.

The trial is proceeding before a judge alone and is expected to take roughly five months.

Williams said she anticipates Crown witnesses could testify into October, adding time has also been set aside this November and January 2026 to accommodate the defence and closing submissions.