Appeal court overturns sex assault acquittal

The Alberta Court of Appeal has overturned an acquittal in a sexual assault case after finding the trial judge relied on stereotypes and myths about sexual assault victims.

In a 2-1 decision filed Wednesday, the appeal judges found that Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Terry Clackson had erred while coming to his decision by relying on an “impermissible stereotype, or myth” about the way a sexual assault victim ought to act.

The accused in the case cannot be identified to protect the complainant — his stepdaughter, who was between the ages of 11 and 16 when the man allegedly assaulted her multiple times.

She alleged she had been “sexually fondled” about 50 times, and one incident involved “simulated sex.” The girl lived in a house with the accused, her mother and her siblings for six years. The girl was 17 when the case went to trial.

In his 2016 verdict, Clackson ruled “reasonable doubt” was raised by the complainant’s failure to avoid her stepfather, or a change in behaviour that would be consistent with being a victim of abuse.

Clackson found that aside from the alleged offences, the relationship between the stepfather and the girl was a “normal parent/child relationship.” The appeal ruling notes that though Clackson “cautioned himself against using stereotypes,” he went on to find that the “incongruity” of the victim’s behaviour left him in doubt of the allegations.

The Crown appealed the acquittal at a hearing March 1.

Two members of the appeal court panel, Justice Marina Paperny and Justice Frederica Schutz, found that the expectation of behavioural changes in a victim is a stereotype, and relying on that stereotype to make a determination about reasonable doubt is an error in law.

With the acquittal overturned, the man will face a new trial on three charges of sexual assault.