The accused, charged with sexual assault and other offences against his estranged wife, brought an application under s. 276 of the Criminal Code to elicit evidence that the complainant was having an extramarital affair.
The accused argued this evidence was necessary to explain why he ceased having a sexual relationship with her, contextualizing his defence.
The court held that evidence of the accused's belief that the complainant was having an affair was admissible as it was relevant to his credibility and inextricably interwoven with the narrative.
However, evidence of whether the affair actually occurred was inadmissible, as its probative value was marginal and substantially outweighed by the prejudicial effect on the complainant's privacy and the proper administration of justice.
