R. v. B.M. [Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, Calgary, September 2018]

B.M. was charged with a single count of sexual assault. B.M. and his friends met two women at a liquor store. They invited them to drink in their hotel room and as a group they later went out to a local bar. When the bar closed, the group including two women returned to the hotel room. One of the women alleged that B.M. had non-consensual sexual intercourse with her at that time. The other woman told police that she had witnessed M.B. having sex with her friend while her friend screamed out “no, no, no”. B.M. did not deny sexual contact but maintained that it was consensual and in fact initiated by the woman. The matter was scheduled for preliminary inquiry and then eventually for trial in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta. After multiple instances of delayed disclosure by the Crown Ms. Fagan brought an application for a stay of proceedings as a consequence of the violation of her client’s right to be tried within a reasonable time. She filed a 50 page legal brief in support of this application.

BOTTOM LINE: a verdict of not guilty was entered. B.M. was acquitted.