James Michael Snow

WARNING: This story contains details readers may find disturbing, and discusses sexual assault.

When she was a child, Mandy Wood was sexually abused by her father. More than three decades later, she’s sharing her story in the hopes it can help other victims.

Wood’s father, James Michael Snow, went to trial for historical sex offences in 2022. She asked the courts to remove the publication ban on the charges involving her so that she could speak publicly about what happened.

“That was very important for me. Having that secret with him feels as if there was still a connection. As if I was somehow a partner to [his crimes] because I was keeping this secret for him,” Wood, now 43, told CBC News in an interview.

In cases of sexual assault, such bans are intended to protect victims by prohibiting the publication of information that could identify them publicly in relation to their case. But opting out was the only way the incest charge against Snow could be reported in the media.

For Wood, opting out was as simple as telling the victim services representative and the Crown’s lawyer that she’d like her name not to be protected. But she said it’s not always that straightforward, and she was

prepared to petition the courts if it came to that