Judge denies Calgary businessman's bid to get out of perjury trial

A Calgary judge has shut down wealthy businessman Ken Carter's bid to get out of his perjury trial, set to take place in November.

Carter has already been convicted of criminal harassment afterpaying current and former police officers to stalk and bullyhis ex-girlfriend duringa bitter breakup and custody dispute in 2012 and 2013.

Now, he is set to go on trial in November for perjury, accused of lying to a judge during related family court proceedings in 2014.

In asking Justice William Tilleman to stay the perjury charge, Carter's lawyer Gavin Wolch argued it tooktoo long for his client's case to get to trial.

The accused can't 'benefit from his own inaction'

But prosecutor Katherine Love saidmuch of the delay wasbecause of a late application by the defence to try Carter's perjury and harassment cases separately.

Tilleman ultimately agreed with Love.

"The severance application, although a legitimate action, was undertaken in a manner, 17 months later, that would essentially see the accused benefit from his own inaction," said the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench justice.

"Mr. Carter cannotboth manufacturerdelay and then complain that the criminal proceedings against him have taken too long."

Both Carter and Steve Walton, who ran the unlicensed private investigation firm used by Carter in his harassment of Akele Taylor, will be tried on charges ofperjury in November.

They are accused of lying about the extent of their business relationship during testimony in family court.

Carter allegedly denied involvement in the surveillance of Taylor while Walton is accused of testifying that Carter was not involved in instructing the private investigation run by Walton and his wife.

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Carter hated his exso much he spent nearly $1,000,000 to bully her into giving him sole custody of the daughter they shared after their 2012 breakup.

He paid current and former Calgary police employees to follow and harass Taylor over the course of about 18 months.

Their tactics involved paying officers to search CPS internal databases for information and putting a GPS tracking device on Taylor's car.

Taylor's mother testified her daughter was so stressed out she had become suicidal.

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A total of six people including Carter andWalton were convicted of various crimes related to the harassment of Taylor and police corruption related to the so-called private investigation funded by Carter.

But after Carter's 2018 criminal harassment conviction, he left for Russia, becoming ill in that country and spending seven months there until his lawyer says he was healthy enough to return.

Earlier this month, a judge sentenced the 59-year-old to three years in prison, but an appeal was filed on the same day and Carter was released pending the higher court's decision.

A date for appeal arguments has not yet been set.