The appellant, a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, appealed his court martial convictions for sexual assault.
At trial, the appellant sought to introduce evidence of the complainant's prior sexual activity with a third party to establish a motive to fabricate the allegations.
The Military Judge dismissed the application at Stage One under section 278.93 of the Criminal Code, finding the evidence irrelevant and based on prohibited twin myths, and refused to hold a Stage Two admissibility hearing.
The Court Martial Appeal Court allowed the appeal, holding that the proposed evidence was logically relevant to assessing credibility and a potential motive to fabricate, without engaging the prohibited stereotypes.
The Court declined to apply the curative proviso, as the error was not harmless and the evidence of guilt was not overwhelming.
A new trial was ordered.
