Not guilty verdict child sexual assault : charges: sexual intercourse with person >10 years but <16 years (max. penalty: 16 years imprisonment), aggravated sexual assault w/ child <16 years (max. penalty: 20 years imprisonment), stalk/intimidate (max. penalty: 5 years imprisonment), common assault (max. penalty: 2 years imprisonment), and assault occasioning bodily harm (max. penalty: 5 years imprisonment)

Our client pleaded not guilty to all counts on the indictment.

It was alleged by the Crown that the complainant was sexually assaulted and threatened by our client. The complainant reported it to her mother months after the alleged incident. The complainant and her mother also alleged that there was an incident days later where he physically assaulted them.

They gave evidence of the alleged physical assault on them and a witness gave evidence that she saw a bruise on the mother’s back which she said was an injury sustained from the assault.

At trial, the key issue was the location of our client at the time and date of the alleged incidents. We adduced telephone records that proved that our client was not in the vicinity at the time of the alleged incidents.

Counsel argued that these offences never occurred and that the allegations were falsified as a result of the child retaliating against our client for being with her mother.

The unreliability of the complainant and her mother, and the location of our client on the alleged days were the issues in this case. Many inconsistencies were targeted by Counsel in cross-examination which unravelled the Crown case.

The trial ran for four weeks and the jury returned verdicts of not guilty to all counts on the indictment.