Evan Akriotis

The appellant was convicted of sexual interference (with the sexual assault conviction stayed under the Kienapple principle) following a trial in the Superior Court of Justice.

The offences involved repeated sexual touching of a complainant between the ages of 13 and 15, who attended a home daycare operated by the appellant's wife.

On appeal, the appellant raised three grounds: (1) improper use of a fabrication finding to bolster the complainant's evidence; (2) failure to expressly reject his denial of the offences under the W.(D.) framework; and (3) misapprehension of the evidence regarding the complainant's alleged motive to lie.

The Court of Appeal dismissed all three grounds, finding the fabrication finding was used only as a credibility assessment tool, that the denial was plainly rejected on a holistic reading of the reasons, and that the trial judge clearly understood and implicitly rejected the motive to lie argument.

The sentence appeal was dismissed as abandoned.

The appellant appealed a conviction for dangerous operation of a conveyance causing bodily harm arising from a collision with an electric scooter rider on a residential street.

He argued that the trial judge misapprehended the evidence concerning his emotional state, improperly relied on demeanour evidence, and erred in rejecting his position that the incident reflected only a momentary lapse of attention.

The court held that the characterization of the appellant's emotional condition was supported by the record, that any demeanour-based inference was invited by defence counsel, and that the trial judge committed no reversible error in treating the conduct as a marked departure from the reasonable standard of care.

The conviction appeal was dismissed, and the sentence appeal was dismissed as abandoned.

The offender pleaded guilty to discharging a restricted firearm with intent to wound and possession of a firearm while prohibited.

The offences occurred during a public altercation outside a shopping mall where the offender fired a handgun at another individual, though no one was struck.

The court weighed the significant aggravating factor of a public shooting near a school against mitigating factors including a guilty plea, remorse, and harsh pre-sentence custody conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court imposed a total sentence of 6.5 years, reduced by 40.5 months for enhanced pre-sentence custody credit.

The accused, a taxi driver, was charged with manslaughter following a fatal collision with a longboarder.

The Crown alleged the accused intentionally veered into the victim in a fit of road rage, while the accused claimed he was unaware of the victim's presence and the collision resulted from a momentary lapse of attention or a mechanical 'bump steer'.

The court rejected the accused's evidence, finding that he intentionally steered his taxi into the curb lane knowing the victim was beside him.

The court concluded this conduct constituted a marked departure from the standard of care of a reasonable person, finding the accused guilty of manslaughter based on the unlawful acts of assault and dangerous driving.