The appellant, a Corporal in the Canadian Armed Forces, was convicted by a General Court Martial of sexual assault and sentenced to 42 days detention, with a mandatory 20-year Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) order imposed.
The appellant appealed the conviction, arguing his prior consistent statement was improperly excluded, and appealed the SOIRA order, seeking a personal remedy under s. 24(1) of the Charter based on R. v. Ndhlovu.
The Court Martial Appeal Court dismissed the conviction appeal, holding the military judge correctly excluded the self-serving hearsay statement.
However, the Court allowed the sentence appeal and set aside the SOIRA order, finding the military judge erred in law by focusing exclusively on the risk of reoffending and failing to consider whether the order's impact, particularly travel restrictions affecting his military career, was grossly disproportionate.
