Couple acquitted of sex assault on teen girl

The Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a Saskatoon couple sexually assaulted a 16-yearold girl in a basement where they had been partying earlier that morning, a jury has determined.

Jurors deliberated for two and a half hours on Friday afternoon before reaching the not guilty verdicts following the couple’s sexual assault trial in Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench.

The acquitted couple mouthed the words “thank you” to jurors as they left the room. They hugged and cried after Justice Richard Danyliuk told them they were free to go.

The man and woman, both 45, were accused of engaging in sex acts with a drunk 16-year-old girl on June 20, 2015.

The evidence is clear that the girl was drinking that night, but her level of intoxication was disputed throughout the trial.

While 16 is the legal age of consent in Canada, Crown prosecutor Rochelle Wempe argued the complainant was too drunk to give consent.

The girl testified she had been drinking and socializing with a group of adults, including her uncle and the accused couple — whom she met for the first time that night.

She said she had started blacking out when she awoke to discover a man raping her while the woman held her down on a couch in her basement. The girl testified she said “no” and “stop” because it hurt.

This recollection was consistent throughout the girl’s police interviews and court testimonies. However, during cross-examination at trial, her story included sex acts with the accused woman. The teen admitted previously that she had lied under oath when she said there was no sexual contact between her and the woman.

The complainant isn’t credible and shouldn’t be believed, defence lawyers Rylund Hunter and Jane Basinski told the jury.

Wempe said the girl was trying to tell the full truth by including details she was previously too embarrassed to disclose.

An accused isn’t required to testify, but both the man and woman took the stand to tell their version of events.

They said they were drinking in the girl’s basement that night, but denied having any sexual contact with the complainant when they briefly returned to the house later that morning to retrieve a bottle of vodka.

The couple testified they had a domestic dispute over whether to continue partying at another house and left separately from the girl’s home.

Wempe questioned why the girl would make up a sexual assault involving complete strangers and then get a rape kit done the next day.

The doctor who examined her noted a vaginal injury consistent with forced penetration. Hunter reminded jurors there were other ways that injury could have occurred.

The defence argued there was an overall lack of physical evidence because the complainant did not have any other bruises or marks, and a vaginal swab sent for testing contained only the victim’s DNA.

The now 18-year-old complainant, who lives in Prince Albert, wasn’t in court for the verdict.