After a lengthy judge-alone criminal trial, the court considered charges that the accused gave a teenage complainant a THC gummy to overcome resistance and sexually touched her by digital penetration.
The case turned on witness credibility and forensic DNA evidence, including expert testimony from the Centre of Forensic Sciences and a defence expert on DNA transfer.
The judge accepted the complainant’s core account, found the accused not credible on key points, and held that the DNA evidence strongly corroborated the sexual touching allegation.
The court convicted the accused of sexual interference under s. 151 of the Criminal Code and acquitted him on the charge of administering an overpowering drug under s. 246(b).
