AIDWYC Exonerations: Individual Cases

Anthony Hanemaayer

Anthony Hanemaayer was charged with assault and break-and-enter following a 1987 Scarborough home invasion and attempted rape. Fearing conviction on both charges, Mr. Hanemaayer accepted the Crown's offer of a two-year sentence in return for a guilty plea on the break-and-enter charge.

In 2006, Paul Bernardo independently confessed the 1987 crime to officers from the Toronto Sexual Assault Team, yet police did not divulge this information to Mr. Hanemaayer. AIDWYC became aware of Bernardo's confession in 2007, and offered to aid Mr. Hanemaayer. With AIDWYC's help, Mr. Hanemaayer was acquitted at the Ontario Court of Appeal on June 25, 2008.