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The defendant was acquitted of assaulting his children with a weapon due to reasonable doubt arising from inconsistent testimony.
The defendant was charged with assaulting his ten-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter with a weapon (a stick or spoon) on multiple occasions between May 2016 and January 2017.
Both children testified via closed-circuit video and provided video-taped statements to police.
The Crown alleged the defendant used an instrument as a means of physical parental discipline.
The defendant denied all allegations and testified he had reformed his parenting approach following a prior 2015 conviction.
The trial judge found the defendant not guilty on both counts, determining that while the children's evidence presented some persuasive elements, significant credibility and reliability concerns, combined with the absence of corroborating evidence and the mother's testimony contradicting key aspects of the allegations, created a reasonable doubt that could not be overcome.
