Two appellants were convicted of sexual assault and related offences following a trial in the Ontario Court of Justice.
The appellants appealed their convictions on two grounds: (1) the trial judge erred in finding that text messages and photographs had not been properly authenticated and thus had no probative value, and (2) the trial judge misapprehended evidence relating to photographs upon which one complainant was cross-examined.
The appellants sought to adduce fresh evidence from a computer forensic examiner regarding the authenticity and integrity of the electronic documents and from trial counsel regarding due diligence.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the trial judge applied an overly stringent authentication standard, misapprehended material evidence, and that the fresh evidence satisfied the conditions for admission on appeal.
A new trial was ordered.
