During a criminal jury trial involving sexual offences, the defence sought to introduce several Facebook pages attributed to the complainant to support a theory regarding the complainant’s motivations and behaviour.
The court considered whether the pages were admissible in light of evidentiary rules and the restrictions imposed by s. 276 of the Criminal Code governing evidence of a complainant’s sexual activity.
The judge found that portions of the Facebook content were sexually suggestive and that admitting them would offend s. 276, while other portions lacked probative value or risked significant prejudice and diversion of the trial.
The court also raised concerns about authenticity, context, and the complexity of interpreting social media content.
The Facebook pages were ruled inadmissible.
