The accused was tried on three counts of indecent assault under the former Criminal Code arising from alleged sexual touching of his niece in 1966.
The court applied the W.(D.) framework, accepted the complainant's evidence as credible and substantially consistent on material points, and found the accused's memory too frail and unreliable to raise a reasonable doubt.
The court also accepted evidence of a 1980 confrontation as amounting to a partial admission that some sexual misconduct had occurred.
The Crown proved the first two counts beyond a reasonable doubt, while the third count was withdrawn by the Crown during final argument.
