Jasmine Mann

The accused was charged with two counts of sexual assault against a refugee claimant with whom she was in an intimate relationship while both resided at a shelter in Toronto.

The Crown alleged two separate incidents of sexual assault in April 2022.

The accused denied the first incident and characterized the second as a consensual joke.

The court found the complainant to be a credible and reliable witness, applying a trauma-informed approach to assess inconsistencies in their testimony.

The court rejected the accused's reliance on "implied consent" as a defence and found the touching to be sexual in nature.

The accused was convicted on both counts.

The court sentenced Neng Jia Jin for the first degree murder of Vanessa Kurpiewska and the attempted murder of Sulakshana Srijeyarah, both committed on December 8, 2022, on Toronto public transit.

Jin pleaded guilty, avoiding a lengthy trial.

The mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole eligibility for 25 years was imposed for murder, and 20 years’ imprisonment (concurrent) for attempted murder.

The court reviewed the facts, victim impact, aggravating and mitigating factors, and relevant sentencing principles, emphasizing the gravity of the offences, the profound impact on victims and the community, and the need for denunciation and deterrence.

E.R., a young person, pleaded guilty to robbery stemming from a home invasion.

The court considered the appropriate sentence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), including whether a custodial disposition was warranted.

The Crown sought a custody and supervision order or, alternatively, a deferred custody and supervision order.

The defence sought a two-year probation period.

The court determined that while the offence was violent and caused serious psychological harm to the victims, a deferred custody order was not available due to the intended serious bodily harm.

However, considering E.R.'s significant rehabilitative steps, lack of prior record, and low risk of re-offending, the court found that a custodial sentence was not warranted.

A two-year probation period with various conditions was imposed, along with a weapons prohibition and a DNA order.

The defendant, Ephraim Mohlala, was charged with sexual assault.

The central issue at trial was the credibility and reliability of the complainant and the defendant.

The court applied the principles from R. v. W.(D.) and found the complainant generally truthful but with several reliability concerns and one credibility concern, particularly regarding inconsistencies and omissions in her statements about the incident, alcohol consumption, and injuries.

While the court did not entirely believe the defendant's denial of sexual contact, it found that the inconsistencies in the complainant's evidence, coupled with the burden of proof on the prosecution, left the court in a state of reasonable doubt.

Consequently, the defendant was acquitted.