Barbara Doupe

Following a judge-alone criminal trial, the court convicted the accused of sexual assault causing bodily harm, unlawful confinement, and possession of cocaine.

The complainant had consumed intoxicants and had limited memory of events before awakening in the accused's room, where she described non-consensual vaginal intercourse, restraint, threats, and physical violence.

Applying the W.D. framework, the court rejected the accused's denial, found his evidence internally inconsistent and inconsistent with surrounding evidence, and accepted corroborative evidence including witness observations, injuries, torn underwear, and DNA evidence.

The court held the complainant lacked the capacity to consent and that the restraint during the assault constituted unlawful confinement.

The accused was charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm and unlawful confinement after an incident in a hotel room.

The complainant, who was highly intoxicated, testified that the accused forced his way into her room, ripped off her underwear, and punched her repeatedly when she tried to escape.

The accused claimed they engaged in consensual sexual activity that went wrong and that he punched her to stop her from using the telephone.

The court rejected the accused's evidence, finding it contradictory and implausible.

While the court found the complainant was not so intoxicated as to lack capacity to consent, it accepted her evidence that she did not consent.

The accused was found guilty of both charges.

The applicant, charged jointly with a co-accused for assault with a weapon and aggravated assault, brought a motion to sever his trial from that of his co-accused.

The applicant argued that a statement made by the co-accused to police, which placed the applicant at the scene, would cause prejudice if heard by a jury in a joint trial.

The court applied the factors for severance and concluded that a strong limiting instruction to the jury would be sufficient to prevent prejudice.

The application for severance was dismissed.