A. W. Bryant

The accused was charged with sexual interference and sexual assault against a six-year-old complainant whom he babysat in 2006.

The trial, held years later when the complainant was 13, centered on credibility and reliability.

The complainant testified that the accused licked her vaginal area, while the accused denied the incident occurred and suggested she was malicious and untruthful.

Applying the W.(D.) framework, the trial judge found the complainant's evidence straightforward and reliable despite minor memory lapses on collateral matters, and rejected the accused's evidence.

The accused was found guilty on both counts.

The accused was charged with possession and making available child pornography after police found illicit images on his computer, which was running the LimeWire peer-to-peer file sharing program.

The accused pled guilty to possession but contested the making available charges, arguing he lacked the requisite mens rea.

The court found that the accused had limited technical knowledge, did not know deleted images were saved, and took active steps to prevent file sharing once he learned of the risk.

The court rejected the Crown's argument of wilful blindness and acquitted the accused of making available child pornography.