Owner ordered to pay $5,000 in punitive damages, $25,000 for future counselling and $15,000 for delayed entry into workforce
A young Ontario server who saw her boss as “a second father” has won a six‑figure judgment after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found the bar owner sexually assaulted her and effectively ended her employment.
The court has ordered the employer to pay the former worker $137,689 in damages in relation to a 2022 incident at his Grey‑Bruce establishment – a ruling that underscores the severe civil consequences when owners or managers sexually exploit young staff.
The plaintiff — identified only as N.M. because of a publication ban — sued her former employer, C.T., in a civil action for sexual assault and wrongful dismissal. In reasons released Jan. 19, 2026, Justice Russell Chown found that the bar owner, then 52, sexually assaulted the 22‑year‑old server both in the bar and in an upstairs apartment, and that his conduct made her continued employment untenable.
The plaintiff had begun working at the bar at age 18 and regarded the defendant “as a second father,” confiding in him about family, friends and general matters. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice found she had never expressed any sexual interest in him and “found the idea disgusting.”
Recently, a Canada Post employee who served as a shop steward at a Prince George, B.C. depot was found guilty of sexually assaulting a co-worker, following a B.C. Supreme Court trial that examined years of workplace tension, crude joking and formal grievances.
Events of the night and video evidence
In the case heard by Justice Chown, the events occurred overnight between Feb. 24 and 25, 2022. After closing, the plaintiff stayed behind to have drinks with the defendant, something she had not previously done alone. Security video showed him secretly tampering with her drink, drinking from it and topping it up with pure spirits while she was in the washroom, causing her to consume more alcohol than she realised.
Later that night, the defendant asked intrusive questions about her sex life, attempted to kiss her while she sat on a bar stool and pulled her to the ground. Video evidence showed him lying on top of her for about 50 seconds. Shortly after, she texted a co‑worker: “help me” and “This is not ok… I am getting harassed… He pulled me to the ground off the chairs.”
Justice Chown rejected the defendant’s suggestion that the plaintiff welcomed his advances, writing that “his suggestion that the plaintiff enjoyed this is not credible.”
Assault in employer‑provided accommodation
Unable to locate her car keys and feeling intoxicated, the plaintiff agreed to the defendant’s suggestion that she stay in the apartment above the bar. She went to a bedroom she believed was used by the defendant’s nephew and fell asleep alone.
She later awoke to feel the defendant’s erect penis against her, as he tried to put his hand down her shirt and then grabbed her hand and touched it to his naked penis. She pulled away and left the room. The court accepted her account and found a second sexual assault occurred in the bedroom.
Criminal guilty plea and credibility findings
Before the civil trial, the defendant had pleaded guilty in criminal court to sexually assaulting the plaintiff for the portion of the incident captured on the bar’s cameras. At trial, he claimed he had been pressured into the plea and alleged the plaintiff had consented and even instigated contact.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice rejected his account, calling his evidence internally inconsistent, contradicted by the video and undermined by his prior admissions. Justice Chown held that the guilty plea and related admissions were “conclusive in this case” and found no undue coercion, noting the defendant had counsel and avoided jail.
Constructive dismissal and impact on employment
The court also found the plaintiff had been constructively dismissed. Although the defendant did not formally terminate her employment, his actions made continued work impossible.
Justice Chown concluded that “the continued employment of the plaintiff was untenable because of the actions of the defendant” and awarded $3,000 in damages for constructive dismissal, representing three months’ reasonable notice for a server with just over four years’ service.
Psychological harm and educational disruption
In assessing general and aggravated damages, the court considered the plaintiff’s age and vulnerability, the nature of the assaults, the defendant’s position of authority and the impact on her mental health and studies.
“The plaintiff testified that she withdrew from everyone after the sexual assault. She stayed at home and did not want to leave the house,” said Justice Chown in the decision. “She avoided the town where the bar was. She found that she could not concentrate. She had depressive symptoms. Her family doctor increased her antidepressant medication. She remains on the higher dose.
“By March, she decided she needed to withdraw from her courses for that semester. She withdrew from all her courses that semester (five courses). She attended counselling with a therapist. The appointments were virtual. She continues to talk to the counsellor. She estimates she has had 20 counselling sessions.”
The plaintiff withdrew from all five of her college courses that semester and finished her diploma eight months late. A psychologist, Dr. Carol‑Anne Hendry, diagnosed post‑traumatic stress disorder and persistent depressive disorder, describing her prognosis as “cautiously optimistic” and recommending further psychotherapy.
Comparing the case to other sexual assault decisions, Justice Chown noted the assaults here occurred on one night and did not involve penetration, but cited the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling in R. v. Friesen that even “mild non‑consensual touching of a sexual nature can have profound implications for the complainant.” The court set general and aggravated damages at $75,000, calling this “a significant amount that is commensurate with a sexual assault having serious consequences.”
The defendant was also ordered to pay $5,000 in punitive damages for the upstairs assault, $25,000 for future counselling and $15,000 for delayed entry into the workforce, plus prejudgment interest on the non‑pecuniary and notice awards, bringing the total to $137,689.
Previously, the Court of Appeal of Alberta overturned a finding that a Calgary pharmacist committed sexual abuse of a patient, quashing the Alberta College of Pharmacy’s disciplinary decision and sending the matter back to the College’s council for reconsideration.
Sexual assault cases in Canada
In Canada, 31% of men and 47% of women reported ever experiencing some form of harassment or sexual assault in the workplace, according to data released by Statistics Canada (StatCan) in 2024.
The largest proportion of women reported ever experiencing inappropriate sexualised behaviours in a workplace setting (44%), followed by discriminatory behaviours (20%) and sexual assault (13%).
A considerable proportion of men also reported ever experiencing inappropriate sexualised behaviours (29%), as well as discriminatory behaviours (9%) and sexual assault (3%) in the workplace.
In 2025, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia dealt with a case involving vicarious liability where an organisation was sued for sexual abuse perpetrated by a volunteer against a young person in their care.
