B.C. man acquitted of Halifax sexual assault charge

A British Columbia man has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a Halifax woman he met on Tinder.

Kenidson Derival, 28, of Victoria stood trial last week in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax.

The woman, whose identity is protected, alleged Derival used physical force to make her perform oral sex on him after he gave her a massage in February 2015.

Justice Michael Wood delivered the verdict Friday, saying the evidence left him with reasonable doubt about what went on between the two individuals.

After chatting on Tinder a few times, Derival and the women met in person at the Pacifico nightclub in downtown Halifax on Feb. 13, 2015.

“The encounter did not turn out as either had hoped or expected,” Wood said.

“The next day, each said that they were sorry.”

The judge heard testimony from the complainant, her two roommates and Derival.

According to the portion of the evidence that was not in dispute, the woman and Derival went back to her place, got in bed together and watched a show on Netflix.

They then began making out and Derival offered to massage her back. After the massage, she told him she was menstruating and performed oral sex on him.

He fell asleep and at about 4 a.m. the woman got up and went to another room, where she spent the rest of the night.

In the morning, Derival was walking around the apartment looking for the woman.

She came out of her friend’s room and they said goodbye to each other.

Over the next few days, Derival sent three text messages to the woman, who did not reply to any of them.

In the first message, he said he was sorry about the night before. In the next text, he asked if she had found her lost phone. In the third message, he said he was really sorry if he made her feel uncomfortable.

But the complainant and Derival offered different versions of what happened after the massage.

She said the making out became too physical and that Derival choked her three times. She said she did not want to give him oral sex but felt she had no choice.

Derival said the entire evening was consensual and the woman was a willing participant.