The long and dragged out retrial of Chilliwack’s notorious David Lee Roth impersonator charged with grooming and having sex with a young girl for over a decade continues this week in BC Supreme Court in New Westminster.
David Kuntz-Angel was convicted after a 20-day trial starting in March 2019 of sexual interference, two counts of invitation to sexual touching, one count each of assault and uttering threats.
But then in November 2019, when it came to sentencing, his lawyer Chantal Paquette applied for a mistrial, citing questions over the mental faculties of Justice Neill Brown who presided over the trial.
The case was then moved to Justice Dev Dley, and while Brown’s status was never explained, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court said the case was reassigned pursuant to a section of the criminal code that states this can happen if a judge “dies or is for any reason unable to continue.”
Kuntz-Angel was granted bail and a new trial began last June. He applied to have the charges dropped due to unreasonable delay under section 11(b) of the Charter, but that application was denied.
• READ MORE: Mistrial declared in Chilliwack’s David Lee Roth impersonator underage sex case
READ MORE: Retrial begins for Chilliwack’s David Lee Roth impersonator in underage sex case
It’s been close to four years since Kuntz-Angel was first charged with grooming and having sex with the complainant for more than 10 years. The complainant cannot be named due to a publication ban.
The case dates back to 2006 when the alleged grooming began and continued until 2016. Witnesses on the stand reported seeing Kuntz-Angel with the young girl as far back as 2007 and as recently as 2016.
The case has had a series of unusual twists and turns, not least because Kuntz-Angel is known from B.C. to Ontario for pretending to be American rock star David Lee Roth. There were news reports from Brantford, Ont., over a decade ago that described how he pretended to be the former Van Halen lead singer.
In fact it was while on the lam for several months in B.C. in 2017, that his obsession with David Lee Roth led to his arrest, as he went into the Long & McQuade store in both Chilliwack and Abbotsford and told staff he was the American rock singer.
He has been out of custody since he was granted bail on Jan. 31, 2020.
His most recent retrial dates were set for April 26, 27 and 28, with continuation dates set for a week in May and another week in July.
• READ MORE: Chilliwack man charged with sexual misconduct says he was beaten up in jail
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:
paul.henderson@theprogress.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Want to support local journalism during the pandemic? Make a donation here.