Article content The defence says a lot of disclosure from the Crown is missing regarding the historic sexual assault charges against British Columbia man dating back nearly 30 years, involving four victims from the area. Article content Jason Timothy Davidson, 52, of Campbell River, B.C., appeared in a Chatham court by video Tuesday where his lawyer Julie Santarossa said she plans to make an additional disclosure request from the Crown after receiving a data drive of information on Dec. 29, 2025.
Article content Recommended Videos We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser, or tap here to see other videos from our team . Defence lawyer seeks more of Crown's evidence in historic sexual assault case Back to video We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or tap here to see other videos from our team . Article content Davidson is charged with four counts of forcible confinement, three counts each of sexual assault and uttering threats, and single counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm, aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, and theft. The charges against Davidson stem from four incidents in 1997, according to previously published reports.
He was arrested by police in his hometown Oct. 26, 2025. When the matter was before the court in early January, Santarossa requested it be adjourned to Feb.
16 to have time to review the disclosure. Article content She told the court Tuesday an additional request will be made because there is “a significant amount of material missing,” including complainant and witness statements and police notes. Assistant Crown Colleen Johnson said the next steps need to be scheduling a Crown pre-trial “immediately” and a judicial pre-trial since the matter is now four months before court.
Santarossa pointed out she requested disclosure shortly after Davidson was arrested in late October 2025 and it wasn’t received until late December 2025. Noting she has been in communication with the Crown’s office, Santarossa said, “It was my impression we would get a second wave of disclosure.” The matter is scheduled to return to court March 3. Davidson is in custody at the South West Detention Centre in Windsor.
Article content There is a publication ban on the identity of victims and any evidence heard during the pre-trial stage Ontario Provincial Police announced Oct. 29, 2025 Davidson had been arrested and charged as a result of a multi-jurisdictional probe into four sexual assaults, three involving teens in Sarnia, Chatham and surrounding counties. Investigators used advances in DNA technology to link the four cases to one person last year, police said.
Then they used genetic genealogy – taking genetic data from crime-scene samples and DNA databases to identify suspects through matches or partial matches with biological relatives – to identify a suspect, police said. Police said the four 1997 incidents include: March 26: A person abducted a teen near Exmouth Street and Indian Road in Sarnia about 9:30 p.m. and sexually assaulted her in nearby Sombra Township.
May 23: A person picked up a teen on Highway 21 in Thamesville about 11:55 a.m. and sexually assaulted her in a wooded area. June 7: A person picked up a woman on Campbell Street in Sarnia about 2 a.m.
and sexually assaulted her in a secluded area nearby. 20: A person picked up a teen on Grand Avenue West in Chatham about 10:40 a.m. and sexually assaulted her in Dover Township, a community on Lake St.
Clair. eshreve@postmedia.com Article content
