Supreme Court upholds sexual assault conviction, affirms refusal of evidence

The Supreme Court of Canada is shown in Ottawa on May 6, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press)

Ottawa -

The Supreme Court of Canada says a man found guilty of sexually assaulting his long-time partner was not entitled to present evidence about sexual activity they engaged in shortly before the offence.

The man, identified only as T.W.W., was convicted after the trial judge refused to allow evidence of the earlier encounter.

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

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She said that one morning he sexually assaulted her.

T.W.W. sought to introduce evidence that they had engaged in consensual sexual activity the prior evening.

Evidence of a complainant's sexual history is presumed to be inadmissible, and the Supreme Court upheld the conviction while affirming the decision to deny admission of the evidence.

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