The accused was tried on charges of sexual assault with a weapon, unlawful confinement, and mischief arising from an alleged assault by an intimate partner.
The case turned primarily on the complainant's credibility and on the admissibility of post-incident text messages sent by the complainant to the accused.
After a mid-trial voir dire, the court held the texts did not contain personal information attracting a reasonable expectation of privacy and were therefore not 'records' under s. 278.1 requiring a s. 278.93 application.
Although the court found the complainant's account plausible and likely true, her unexplained lack of forthrightness about those communications raised a reasonable doubt that was not cured by the remaining evidence.
The accused was acquitted on all counts.
