The appellant appealed a conviction for sexual assault involving a young child.
The conviction had been based on circumstantial evidence that the accused had placed his arm under a blanket where the child was sleeping and the child awoke startled, asking what he was doing.
The appellate court applied the unreasonable verdict test and held that the evidence did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that any touching was intentional or sexual in nature.
The circumstances were equally consistent with the accused, who was intoxicated, entering a dark bedroom to find a place to sleep and inadvertently touching the child.
The court concluded the inference of sexual assault was not the only reasonable inference available on the evidence and allowed the appeal.
