Our client met the complainant while working at an airport. He was in his 20s and she was in her 40s. Despite their difference in age and cultures, they began what would prove to be rocky relationship. The complainant had a history of panic attacks, self-inflicted wounds, and depression.
- The complainant suffered a panic attack and locked herself in the washroom with our client’s phone. She wanted him to leave. Concerned for her safety and despite knowing the police had been called, our client stayed and forced his way into the washroom to calm the complainant down. After he was arrested for allegedly assaulting her once he had entered the washroom, the complainant wrote a very detailed letter to police setting out her various mental health issues and insisting that our client had been trying to help her, according to instructions she gave him for dealing with her if she ever had such an attack. The charges were withdrawn a month later.
- A few days later there was a confrontation between our client, the complainant, and her ex-boyfriend. Our client had caught the complainant in a car with her ex-boyfriend. The police were called, but no charges were laid.
- Our client and the complainant continued to see each other, until another night when the complainant called the police and claimed our client was trying to break into her home. When the police attended, they arrested our client, but let him go without any charges despite the allegations.
- The next day, the complainant went to the police station and disclosed an occasion of unwanted sexual intercourse, assault, and several occasions where she was not allowed to get out of his car or leave the bedroom. This resulted in our client being charged, again. A few months later, the complainant wrote another letter to the police, stating that her allegations were again untrue. However, these charges were not withdrawn and the case proceeded to a trial by judge and jury.
- Several months later, the complainant alleged that our client assaulted her in public and dragged her by the hair across the bridge. Our client was charged, brought to trial, and acquitted of the alleged assault before he went to trial on the earlier allegations.
In short, the complainant had a history of making allegations against our client that either resulted in no charges being laid, charges being withdrawn, or charges that resulted in acquittals.
RESULT: Our client was found not guilty of sexual assault, assault, two counts of mischief, break and enter, and attempted break and enter, but found guilty and sentenced to thirty days’ imprisonment for forcible confinement and criminal harassment.
