In a judge-alone criminal trial involving allegations of sexual assault by a religious leader against a congregant, the case turned almost entirely on credibility and reliability.
The court found the complainant generally responsive and convincing, but concluded that significant implausibilities and exaggeration in her account of the wedding ceremony undermined the reliability of her evidence on a central event.
The accused's evidence was not perfect, but the Crown did not expose material inconsistencies sufficient to reject his denials.
Applying the beyond a reasonable doubt standard from Lifchus, the court held the complainant's evidence did not attain the necessary degree of certainty and acquitted on all counts.
