The accused was charged with three child luring offences arising from a police sting operation involving an online escort advertisement.
The Crown relied on circumstantial evidence to prove the accused was the person exchanging text messages with an undercover officer.
The court found the circumstantial evidence insufficient to prove identity beyond a reasonable doubt, as there were other plausible theories inconsistent with guilt.
Furthermore, applying *R. v. Morrison*, the court held that even if identity were proven, the conflicting information about age in the advertisement and text messages was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused believed the person was under 18 or was wilfully blind to that fact.
The accused was acquitted on all counts.
