The accused, a young person, was charged with sexual assault.
The court found that the complainant did not subjectively consent to the sexual activity beyond initial kissing.
The accused relied on the complainant's silence, passivity, and ambiguous conduct, leading the court to conclude he was reckless or wilfully blind to the lack of consent.
The defence of mistaken belief in consent failed as the accused did not take reasonable steps to ascertain consent, particularly as the sexual activity escalated and the parties were unfamiliar.
The court emphasized that "testing the waters" or relying on a lack of resistance does not constitute reasonable steps.
The accused was convicted of sexual assault.
