Lawyer asks for house arrest in New Brunswick for Windsor denturist convicted of sexual assault

GRAPHIC WARNING: Some of the details in this story may be disturbing to some readers.

Mario Mouamer, 47, was convicted of 13 counts of sexual assault against 10 different victims in November 2023.

“This gentleman is not a danger to the community,” defence lawyer Laura Joy told the court Monday during a sentencing hearing. “This defendant would not disappoint the community or this court.”

Mouamer was a denturist practicing in Windsor who was convicted by Justice George King for inappropriately touching his patients.

The offences occurred between January 2013 and June 2017 against victims between the ages of 23 and 65 years old.

Joy said her client regrets his actions.

“He has hurt them and he has caused them pain,” Joy said. “It’s the last thing he ever wanted to do.”

Court heard Mouamer moved to New Brunswick to care for his aging parents.

Joy wants Mouamer sentenced to a conditional sentence - commonly referred to as house arrest - of two years less a day plus a three-year ban on communicating with the victims.

She provided more than a dozen character reference letters, including numerous from a church on the East Coast.

“It’s a very important part of his life,” Joy said. “His faith has kept him strong through all of this.”

Mouamer has decided he will no longer practice as a denturist in light of his conviction, according to Joy.

Crown Attorney Tim Kavanaugh noted for the court, however, the year after the charges were laid (2018), Mouamer had one of his better years, business-wise.

And, he told the court the only reason the Windsor location was closed was because the lease ran out and Mouamer moved to New Brunswick.

“Highly aggravating is the breach of trust in this matter,” Kavanaugh said to the judge. “These women were placed in front of a mirror and had to see themselves being sexually assaulted.”

In at least three of the complainants’ cases, they told police, and testified in court, that Mouamer had an erection, which he placed up against their buttocks while showing the women how their dentures fit.

According to Kavanaugh, one of the victims told Mouamer as early as 2015, “You just sexually assaulted me,” which the denturist disputed.

Even after that, more victims were assaulted by Mouamer while in his care, according to Kavanaugh.

“Anyone coming for denture services is in a position of need and there is a power imbalance,” Kavanaugh noted when reminding the judge one of the victims needed dentures to be able to eat; another had been in a car accident; while yet another victim was recovering from cancer.

“All of these women came as vulnerable women into a situation where they were confined in front of a mirror and then sexually assaulted by somebody they were paying,” Kavanaugh said.

He argued the number of victims (10), over a duration of nearly four years “takes this particular matter out of a conditional sentence.”

Kavanaugh asked for a prison term of 42 months, or three and a half years, and a ban on owning weapons for 10 years.

A DNA sample for police databases is mandatory under the Criminal Code.

Kavanaugh also wants Mouamer’s name added to the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) for 20 years.

While not referencing house arrest in New Brunswick specifically, Kavanaugh did note for the court Mouamer has other family members on the east coast who could care for his parents.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Mouamer was given a chance to speak to the court.

“I am sincerely remorseful for any pain and suffering I have caused the complainants and the community itself,” Mouamer said. “I will assure the honourable court that I will never be before the criminal court again. My concern is for my elderly parents that depend on me and I thank your Honour for this.”

At the start of the hearing Monday, Justice King was upset Mouamer was appearing virtually and not in person.

“I’m very disturbed,” Justice King said to Joy. “I need an explanation why this isn’t being done in person.”

Joy explained there was a misunderstanding on her part that Mouamer could appear virtually and she told the court her office did not receive two emails last week from trial coordination confirming the hearing was to be in person.

Crown Attorney Tim Kavanaugh, who no longer works in Windsor but in eastern Ontario, was in person for Monday’s hearing.

Justice King told Mouamer he will be sentenced on March 11, 2024.