Criminal trial involving 18 charges arising from allegations of intimate partner violence, including assault, sexual assault, forcible confinement, uttering threats, break and enter, and mischief.
The accused pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The court found the complainant’s testimony not sufficiently credible or reliable to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, citing inconsistencies between the allegations of severe violence and the complainant’s numerous affectionate communications with the accused both during and after the alleged incidents.
Corroborative witnesses largely repeated statements made by the complainant and did not independently establish the alleged assaults.
The court rejected the testimony of a former partner as biased but accepted evidence that the accused damaged the complainant’s vehicle at a parking lot.
The accused was convicted only of mischief under $5,000 and acquitted on all remaining counts.