The appellant, a corporal in the military, appealed his conviction for sexual assault and his sentence of 30 days' imprisonment, demotion, and a $5,000 fine.
The conviction appeal argued the military judge's credibility findings were illogical.
The Court Martial Appeal Court dismissed the conviction appeal, finding no error in the credibility assessment.
On the sentence appeal, the appellant and the Crown jointly argued the military judge erred by imposing imprisonment instead of the jointly submitted 30 days' detention without giving the parties notice and an opportunity to make further submissions.
The Court applied the framework from Nahanee, holding that a sentencing judge must notify parties before exceeding a sentencing submission, even if the offender was convicted after a trial rather than pleading guilty.
The sentence appeal was allowed, and the sentence was varied to 30 days' detention, with all other orders remaining.
