The accused appealed as of right after a provincial appellate court set aside his acquittals on sexual offence charges and ordered a new trial.
The Court held that the trial judge committed an error of law by assessing credibility through an impermissible stereotype about how a sexual assault complainant should behave, relying on the complainant’s lack of avoidance of the accused.
Adopting the majority appellate reasons, the Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the new trial order.
