Warning: This article contains graphic details
Thirty-seven-year-old Bryan Hayward was arrested last May after a W5 investigation uncovered sex videos involving women who appeared unconscious.
Hamilton Police have since laid a total of sixty charges involving more than a dozen alleged victims. The charges include aggravated sexual assault, administering a noxious substance and distributing intimate images without consent.
Among those watching the case closely is his former wife, Chelsea Davies, who is not surprised the number of alleged victims has continued to grow.
“I would like to say I was surprised, but unfortunately I was expecting more victims to come forward.”
Child-drugging allegations and unanswered questions
Although police have not found images of Davies or her daughter on Hayward’s seized devices, she wants charges laid after drugs were found in the system of their then-11-year-old, two years before his arrest.
Davies says she reported the incident at the time and provided medical records showing benzodiazepine, a sedative, in her daughter’s system.
“It is not a coincidence that she was drugged while she was in his care. To pretend that it is a coincidence is horribly misguided and not a path to justice.”
Davies says she took her daughter to the emergency room within ten minutes of the girl returning from a visit with her father. She says her daughter was drooling, slumped over and lethargic.
“I did everything right. I did everything I could. As soon as she was returned to me, within ten minutes I had her in the emergency room. Blood and urine were taken, and benzodiazepines were found in her system. I told the police, I told CAS immediately that I suspected Brian of drugging her.”
Her daughter spent three days in hospital recovering.
Despite the hospital toxicology report and the slew of charges Hayward now faces, he has not been charged in relation to the child-drugging allegation.
In a statement to W5, Hamilton police say, “Investigators continue to work closely with the Crown Attorney’s Office to determine whether there are sufficient grounds to lay any additional charges.”
Push for better toxicology testing
Davies claims the testing that was done at the hospital wasn’t comprehensive.
She says it didn’t measure exactly how much of the drug was in her daughter’s system, which has become a barrier to proving bodily harm.
She also claims a cup that was given to police for evidence was never tested.
“There are many countries with professional standards for this. Canada is woefully lacking. In suspected child-drugging cases there should be comprehensive evidence collection and toxicology testing every time.”
Survivors of drug-facilitated sexual assault are buoyed by a recent precedent setting case in Montreal. A judge has delivered what is believed to be the harshest sentence in Canadian history involving this type of crime.
Samuel Moderie, 30, has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years after admitting to secretly drugging, sexually assaulting and recording 13 women.
Hayward, meanwhile, remains in custody awaiting trial in Hamilton.
The allegations against him have not been proven in court.
