Delay in laying sexual assault charges a mystery

Survivors reported incidents to police five years ago, but no one is saying why no charges were laid

Two survivors connected to recent sexual assault charges against a former Hamilton bar and restaurant owner reported him to police five years ago.

In 2016, one woman reported Jesse Chiavaroli to the Hamilton Police Service. Another reported him to the Ontario Provincial Police.

But no arrest was made. On June 2, Chiavaroli, 41, was arrested by the RCMP’s Burnaby, B.C. detachment and brought back to Hamilton where he appeared in court last week on six counts of sexual assault. Each involves a different woman. Two of them complained before.

How did that happen? Why did the earlier complaints not result in charges at the time?

Hamilton police told The Spectator that in 2016 they investigated, but no charge was laid.

“There are many reasons why an investigation may not move forward,” says spokesperson Jackie Penman. For instance a woman can withdraw her complaint.

“In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation, there are no further details as to why the case did not move forward in 2016,” says Penman.

OPP Const. Martin Hackey, of the Collingwood detachment, is listed on the Hamilton police media release about Chiavaroli’s arrest. The Spectator’s repeated attempts to reach him have been unsuccessful.

I have questions.

Has new evidence surfaced? Or did detectives approach the complaint differently this time?

Context is critical here. In 2016, police services across Canada reeled as the Globe and Mail revealed it was investigating the rates of “unfounded” sexual assault complaints across the country.

An unfounded case is one closed by investigators because they do not believe it to be true.

Penman, the Hamilton police spokesperson, says the fiveyear delay in laying the charge against Chiavaroli is not related to the unfounded issues.

When it published its groundbreaking series in 2017, The Globe reported that Hamilton dismissed more sexual assault complaints than many services in Canada. Hamilton’s unfounded rate was 30 per cent — well above the national average of 19 per cent.

It was a shocking number to some, but came as no surprise to local survivors and those working with them.

Over and over survivors tell me they do not want to report to police because they fear they will not be believed. While I investigated Chiavaroli and his friend and one-time business partner, chef Manny Ferreira, just one of the dozens of victims I spoke with had reported their assault to police. Since we published our work, several decided to report for the first time.

Ferreira, who owned the now defunct Mezcal taco spot and Uno Mas bar, is under investigation by the Hamilton police Sexual Assault Unit as a direct result of The Spectator’s stories.

Ferreira has repeatedly denied all allegations made against him.

From 2010 to 2014, 664 allegations of sexual assault reported to Hamilton police were dismissed as unfounded.

I like to think those cases were not dismissed due to callousness or laziness, but rather the lack of training police had at that time around the neurobiology of trauma and how it can affect a victim’s behaviour or memory.

Just because a survivor doesn’t cry or remember exact details, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. The brain does things to protect itself and detectives hadn’t been taught that then.

Some good things came about at Hamilton police because of the unfounded stories.

Sexual assault detectives received training on the impact of trauma on the brain.

A massive review of more than 700 unfounded cases between 2010 and 2017 was ordered and done by police and members of the Sexual Assault Community Review Team, which included representatives of agencies such as the Sexual Assault Centre for Hamilton and Area (SACHA), the Sexual Assault Domestic Violence Care Centre at McMaster and the Native Women’s Centre.

The team found 70 per cent of those cases were closed incorrectly. Sometimes not all witnesses were interviewed, or forensic testing wasn’t done, or disproportionate weight was given to the accused.

The team made five recommendations: make the review process permanent; hire additional detectives to the sexual assault unit; provide ongoing training on the neurobiology of sexual violence and trauma; allow only the sexual assault unit’s detective sergeant to close a case; make special considerations for vulnerable people.

Hamilton police say all the recommendations were implemented.

Allegations of sexual violence followed Chiavaroli for years.

They surfaced publicly in January when women in Victoria, B.C. began posting allegations against Chiavaroli to a social media site called Survivor Stories. At the time, Chiavaroli was working at a Victoria restaurant called Chuck’s Burger Bar — a business that began on Locke Street South in Hamilton and mysteriously closed shop a number of years ago.

The Spec was already investigating Chiavaroli at the time and soon published its first story about him. It included a woman who alleged he drugged and sexually assaulted her. Another said he had a history of using the nightclubs he operated as a place to meet women and have sex with them.

It is that pattern of behaviour that was scrutinized by police and led to charges.

The Victoria Police Department announced it was investigating a bartender who The Spectator has independently verified is Chiavaroli.

Chiavaroli once ran a bar in St. Catharines called Cache.

Niagara Regional Police were also mentioned on the Hamilton police media release as being involved in the Chiavaroli investigation.

In a statement to The Spectator, Niagara police say: “We have been in communication with the other police agencies. At this time we are not able to discuss the nature of any possible investigations we may or may not have ongoing involving Mr. Chiavaroli.”

Chiavaroli worked in the restaurant and bar industry in downtown St. Catharines and Niagara Falls from 2009 to 2015. From 2015 to 2018 he worked in Hamilton, operating three bars in Hess Village — Ora, Trust and Heist.

Ferreira and Chiavaroli owned the now-closed Baroque nightclub on John Street South.

Chiavaroli was granted bail and is to have his next court appearance in July.

If the charge is not related to the unfounded issues, what did happen? Will we be told? Not just in the complaint to Hamilton police, but also the OPP.

Only when police are open and transparent can there be trust and confidence.

Survivors are encouraged to report to the Hamilton Police Service by contacting the Sexual Assault Unit at 905-5405553 or www.hamiltonpolice.on.ca to file an online report. You can also remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, or submit anonymous tips at www.crimestoppershamiIton.com.