The Crown appealed acquittals on two assault counts arising from incidents involving the accused and his mother.
The trial judge had accepted the complainant’s credibility and found the assaults technically made out but declined to convict, applying the principle of de minimis non curat lex and considering the accused’s prior custody and the complainant’s pursuit of mental health interventions.
The appeal court held that the trial judge erred in law by treating the assaults as trivial, misapplying the de minimis principle, and by considering irrelevant factors such as pre-trial custody and the complainant’s earlier attempts to address the situation through the mental health system.
The court set aside the acquittals and entered convictions on the remaining assault counts.
