Mr. L. Kinahan

The accused faced charges of sexual assault, sexual touching, and invitation to sexual touching arising from historical allegations by his step-daughter.

The trial turned entirely on credibility and reliability because the Crown case rested on the complainant's evidence alone, while the defence relied on contradictions, delayed disclosure, collateral impeachment evidence, and the mother’s evidence about opportunity.

The court held that delay alone could not support an adverse inference, but found significant credibility and reliability concerns in the complainant’s evidence, including inconsistencies on material and collateral matters.

Preferring the mother’s evidence on key contextual points and concluding the Crown had not met the burden of proof, the court acquitted on all counts.

The accused brought a second third-party records application under s. 278.3 of the Criminal Code, seeking records from the Children's Aid Society (CAS) and Ottawa Police Service (OPS).

The defence argued the records were relevant to the complainant's credibility and reliability, particularly concerning her alleged drug and alcohol use, which was a factor in her leaving the family home and subsequently making allegations.

The court, applying the two-part test from R. v. Mills, reviewed the records.

It found that certain OPS records (incidents from March 18, 2016, and April 16, 2016, and a related video), which suggested the complainant may have been intoxicated, were relevant and producible, subject to redactions, consistent with a prior ruling by Gilmore J. regarding similar York Regional Police Service records.

However, a 911 audio call and OPS records from April 18, 2016, relating to Algonquin College, were deemed irrelevant and not produced.

The court emphasized the need to avoid stereotypical conclusions about complainants.