The accused was charged with several sexual offences nearly three years after the alleged incidents, primarily due to the police's inability to locate the complainant.
A Provincial Court judge stayed the proceedings, finding the pre-charge delay violated the accused's right to be tried within a reasonable time under section 11(b) of the Charter.
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the accused's appeal, holding that the time frame for assessing a section 11(b) claim generally runs only from the moment a person is charged, and pre-charge delay is irrelevant to this analysis.
