Who knows why Robert Faulkner and Nancy Bigras never made it to court Thursday. Maybe they knew they were done like dinner or maybe they just slept in.

But Jonathan Davies and his supporters were there. And by the end of his small claims court hearing, the 51-year-old Davies left no doubt that he was the victim of a cruel fraud by two vultures who took advantage of his gullible ways.

Davies has an autism-spectrum disorder known as Asperger syndrome, a condition that affects, among other things, the ability to pick up signs that something is amiss or someone is bad.

After ordering Faulkner and Bigras, in absentia, to repay Davies more than $8,000 they stole from him, Judge D.J. Dwoskin expressed surprise that the case had not resulted in criminal charges. Dwoskin made the comment after he was told that Faulker and Bigras are facing criminal charges relating to an incident in February.

However, Davies' lawyer, Tom Curran, told the judge he would send a transcript of the hearing to Ottawa police in the hope of having his client's case reopened. Following a brief investigation of Davies' complaint last winter, police decided not to lay charges. They urged him to seek restitution through small claims court.

Over a five-day period last December, Faulkner and Bigras got Davies to give them cash as well as buy them many goods under the premise that he was helping them out until they could pay him back. He bought them groceries, cigarettes, gift cards, gas, a car battery, tires, and even automobile insurance, using cash and two credit cards.

Last February, Bigras told The Public Citizen that Davies showered her with money and gifts in the hope of having sex with her, and that she wouldn't be repaying him. Davies denied the silly accusation.

The judge believed Davies' account from top to bottom, stating that he was accepting "all the evidence of the plaintiff" unconditionally. "The plaintiff was defrauded by both defendants," said the judge. "... It's a shock."

He ordered Faulkner and Bigras to repay Davies $8,072.39, plus interest and $175 in court costs. Dwoskin also ordered them to pay $1,210.86 for Davies' legal fees, even though Curran represented his client at no charge.

The chances of Davies getting back any of the money are slim, as Bigras and Faulkner are believed to be on welfare. But a condition put on the two at Curran's request is that if either files for bankruptcy, the money they owe Davies will not be excused, as it was gained fraudulently.

If anything, Davies can claim a moral victory. His articulate testimony and his amazing memory to recall dates, places, names and even word-for-word conversations -- another feature of his syndrome -- didn't allow Faulkner and Bigras to get away with what they did to him.

Gordon Montgomery, co-ordinator of Aspirations, an autism/Asperger support group, said prior to Thursday's hearing that 90 per cent of autistic people who appear in court are victims like Davies. He said there are "many, many more cases," but they go undetected, usually because the victims live in fear or believe they are the ones who caused the problem.

Davies first encountered Bigras and Faulkner on the evening of Dec. 10. It was the first day of the OC Transpo strike -- which Davies believes, to a point, led to his predicament. Because he couldn't catch a bus to the Sparks Street pub where he was going to listen to Celtic music, he decided to walk from his Gilmour Street apartment. He made it as far as Somerset and O'Connor streets when a van pulled up beside him and the man driving it asked: "Where are you going?"

He kept walking, but the driver pulled around a corner, stopped, got out and yelled: "I'm over here."

Davies approached the man, who turned out to be Faulkner, and was offered a ride to wherever he was going. Faulkner told Davies that he was helping out people during the transit strike. Davies got inside the van, where Bigras was sitting in the second row.

Davies was asked if he could give them any money to help pay for gas. He offered $10, as long as they picked him up at the bar at 11 p.m. to take him home. They were punctual as promised, and the unsuspecting Davies was snared.

Two days later, after a few more rides to wherever he needed to go, Davies let it slip that he was receiving a monthly stipend from an inheritance left by his late father, a doctor. Within minutes, Faulkner asked Davies to lend him $180 for automobile insurance, and promised to repay him when his paycheque arrived the following week. Without the insurance, Davies was told, Faulkner wouldn't be able to drive him around during the bus strike.

So Davies agreed, which led to the avalanche of requests for more loans over the next few days. Even when he began to worry and asked about repayment, he kept buying the couple whatever they asked for. Even Faulkner's son and daughter got into the act.

Davies finally turned to Wallace Troup, a retired cardiologist and executor of his father's will, on Dec. 16, and told him what was happening. They went to Davies' bank, who told their client to report the matter to police.

Troup told the court Thursday that although Davies' condition has not hurt his intellect or linguistic abilities, "he is not skilled in perceiving a lie being told to him."

Davies, who pumped his fists gently as the judge delivered his decision, told the court earlier that one precaution he now takes is not to carry his credit cards with him anymore unless he needs to buy something. He told me yesterday that he also has learned something from his dealings with Bigras and Faulkner: Not to lend people money.

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