Convicted condom-piercer taking appeal to Supreme Court of Canada

Ice coats tree branches outside of the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa on Dec. 10, 2012. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

HALIFAX -- A Nova Scotia man convicted of sexual assault for poking holes in his girlfriend's condoms in the hopes of getting her pregnant is taking his appeal to Canada's highest court.

Craig Jaret Hutchinson of Shelburne County received an 18-month prison sentence in December 2011 and lost his appeal with the provincial Appeal Court earlier this month in a 4-1 majority decision.

His lawyer says a notice of appeal was filed Jan. 10 in the Supreme Court of Canada, but no court dates have been set.

Luke Craggs says the Supreme Court of Canada must hear Hutchinson's appeal because the lower court decision wasn't unanimous.

Craggs says Hutchinson has been released from jail pending his appeal on a $5,000 recognizance with his father as a surety.

Hutchinson's judge-only trial heard that he took a pin to his girlfriend's condoms in 2006 so that she would get pregnant and not break up with him.

The Halifax-area woman became pregnant and had an abortion, but she later suffered an infection of her uterus that was treated with antibiotics.

In his previous appeal, Hutchinson argued that the Nova Scotia Supreme Court's sentence was excessive, and that the woman voluntarily consented to having sex with him.