A young person was charged with public mischief under section 140(1)(a) of the Criminal Code for allegedly making a false statement to police accusing another person of sexual assault and sexual exploitation.
The Crown's case relied heavily on an apology letter in which the accused appeared to admit lying about the allegations.
The court found that the letter was obtained through reprehensible tactics involving manipulation and coercion by the accused person and his lawyer, who used false promises of employment to pressure a third party to obtain the letter.
The court also found that the accused's original statement to police was not substantially false when compared to security video evidence.
The charge was dismissed.
