The trial of an accused serial sex predator is not at all like TV or film dramas would have you believe. It is long and arduous, and the shock and horror present themselves not as a tidal wave of big reveals, but as a slow-moving, punishing storm. In the case of the trial of Michael Mark Haaima, victim after victim has testified to the horrors they allegedly endured here in the Kingston area at the hands of the accused.

When the case adjourned for a month as of Oct. 3, a sense of relief among the leading players was palpable. Justice Robyn Ryan Bell, who is presiding over the judge-only trial that began on May 29, 2025, at the Frontenac County Court House, smiled as she announced that the courtroom would not be sealed at the end of the day, which would allow other business to be conducted

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