Alison Morris

The accused was charged with sexual assault following an encounter with the complainant.

The complainant, who was highly intoxicated, initially had no memory of the events but later claimed to remember non-consensual anal penetration.

The accused testified that the sexual activity was consensual and denied any anal penetration, stating that the encounter ended when the bed tipped and the complainant hit her head.

The court found the accused's evidence credible and corroborated by forensic evidence and witness testimony.

The court raised serious concerns about the reliability of the complainant's recovered memories, suggesting they may have been tainted by suggestions from a sexual assault nurse and police.

The accused was acquitted.

Following a judge-alone criminal trial, the court convicted the accused on multiple sexual offences involving three child complainants and on firearm offences arising from firearms found in his rural residence while he was subject to a weapons prohibition order.

The court admitted two complainants' prior video-recorded statements under s. 715.1 of the Criminal Code, assessed the evidence through the lens of credibility, reliability, and the reasonable doubt standard, and accepted the complainants' evidence despite delayed disclosure and some peripheral inconsistencies.

DNA evidence from underwear and medical evidence from a sexual assault examination materially corroborated one complainant's account.

The court also found constructive possession of rifles in a locked cabinet and held that keeping a rifle in a kitchen accessible in a home with children, and discharging a firearm from inside the house, constituted a marked departure from the conduct of a reasonable person under s. 86(1).