Supreme Court confirms conviction for sexual assault

OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a man found guilty of sexually abusing his long-term partner is not entitled to present evidence about the sexual acts the two engaged in shortly before the crime.

The man, identified only as TWW, was convicted after the trial judge refused to admit evidence of the earlier encounter.

The woman testified that she and her partner had separated several weeks before the events and that he had moved into a downstairs bedroom of their home.

She said he sexually harassed her one morning.

TWW attempted to provide evidence that they had engaged in consensual sexual activity the previous evening.

Evidence about a plaintiff’s sexual history was deemed inadmissible and the Supreme Court upheld the conviction but reaffirmed the decision not to admit the evidence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2024.