SEXUAL OFFENCES
R. v S.H.
Result: Charges Dismissed Mid-Trial. No Criminal Record
S.H. was accused by his former step-son of sexually assaulting him when he was 9 years old. The Complainant gave a Calgary Police Service detective a video recorded statement when he was 15 years old describing the alleged incident. In the incredibly brief interview, the Complainant gave no other details other than S.H. put his penis in my anus. The Detective failed to ask a single follow-up question to determine the validity of the allegations, and instead, charged S.H. with sexual assault and invitation to sexual touching. As a result, S.H. lost custody of his young daughter.
At trial, Cory Wilson extensively cross-examined the Complainant who was unable to answer the simplest of questions. During cross-examination, the Complainant became so angry with being caught in multiple lies that he threatened to beat up Cory in court. At the end of cross-examination, Cory Wilson confronted the complainant with text messages sent to a third-party that contradicted his version of events, which put a nail in his coffin.
Once cross-examination was complete, the Crown Prosecutor told the judge that based on cross, she was no longer prepared to proceed and S.H. was found not guilty.
This was an incredible outcome that could have been prevented had the investigating officer simply done her job and not accepted the allegation on face value.
R v. P.S
Result: Not guilty. No Criminal Record
The client and his family lived on the main floor of house and the complainant’s family rented the basement suite of the house. It was alleged by the teenage complainant that in the early morning hours after a party. P.S. came into the basement suite, held a knife to her and then sexually assaulted her until she was able to convince her to stop.
At trial, Cory Wilson cross-examined the complainant on her version of events that were simply unbelievable – many of the questions she could not answer. Cory was able to completely discredit the complainant by repeatedly putting to her previous inconsistent statements.
When the trial judge gave his decision, he laid out every instance that Cory Wilson discredited the complainant and found that P.S. truthfully denied committing the offence. As a result, P.S. was found not guilty.
As terrible as it is to be falsely accused of sexual assault, P.S. was able to get his life back and move forward after being found not guilty.
R v. R.G.
Result: Charge Withdrawn. No Criminal Record
R.G. was alleged to have groped his massage therapist while he was receiving the massage. She claimed that he reached up and grabbed her several times near her vagina when he was face down. She ran out of the room and called police. Our client remained on scene and denied touching the massage therapist. Not believing his version of events, police charged R.G. with sexual assault.
R.G. was devastated by the allegations and adamantly denied doing anything improper. He denied grabbing the complainant and said he waited for police because he had done nothing wrong.
R v. P.X.
Result: Pled Guilty to Reduced Charge
P.X. was charged with sexual assault after his young female neighbor alleged that he had taken her into his bedroom during a party and touched her vagina. P.X. denied it and the matter was set for trial.
After a lot of back and forth the with assigned Crown Prosecutor, Cory Wilson was able to negotiate that the matter be resolved by way of common assault with only a twelve-month period of probation. P.X. jumped at the opportunity to resolve the matter so favorably and resolved his case without the cost or stress of a trial.
R v. C.U.
Result: Charges Withdrawn
C.U. was charged with multiple sexual offences as a result of an incident that occurred with the friend of his teenage daughter. It was alleged that the client followed her into the spare bedroom, started to hit on her and then put his hand up he skirt and digitally penetrated her despite her telling him to stop. The Complainant immediately called the police and C.U. was arrested and charged.
Cory Wilson received disclosure and found that the video recording of the Complainant’s statement to police was missing. After multiple requests, it was revealed that the investigating officer lost the recording. As a result, Cory informed the prosecutor he would be making an application to have the charges Stayed based on the significant issue. After providing the prosecutor with case law, the charges were withdrawn.
This was an incredible outcome for our client. He avoided the trial and walked away with no criminal record.
R. v T.I.
Result: Charges withdrawn. No Criminal Record
T.I. was accused by the daughter of a family friend of sexually assaulting her at a large party 10 years prior to making the complaint to police. Remarkably, the complainant did not see the person who allegedly assaulted her and instead told police that the body shape of the perpetrator somewhat matched T.I. At the time of the alleged offence, four other people were sleeping on the floor in the same room as the complainant, but none heard or saw a thing.
Despite the obvious issue with identification, police charged T.I. with multiple sexual offences because of the allegations.
After reviewing the disclosure, Cory Wilson immediately contacted the Crown Prosecutor’s office to have the obvious identification issue reviewed with a senior prosecutor. After reviewing the allegation, the prosecutor agreed that T.I. should have never been charges and withdrew the charges the next day.
This case shows how innocent people can so easily be charged with one of the worst criminal offences. Thankfully, Cory was able to quickly have the charges withdrawn saving T.I. the stress and cost of a trial.
R v. S.K.
Result: Not guilty. No Criminal Record
S.K. was accused by his ex-girlfriend of sexually assaulting her on two occasions during the relationship. The allegations were made months after the relationship ended and two days after S.K. filed paperwork for full custody of their shared child.
At trial, Cory Wilson extensively cross-examined the complainant about making a false allegation to keep full access to their shared child. After repeatedly denying that the timing was nothing but a coincidence, Cory confronted her with multiple texts in which she told a third-party that she would do anything to keep the child.
S.K. testified that he never sexually assaulted the complainant and that the first time she ever made such a claim was after he filed child custody paperwork.
The trial judge believed S.K. and found him not guilty. Not only was this a massive relief on the criminal side, but the finding of not guilty was used in the child custody case.
R v. M.O.
Result: Not guilty. No Criminal Record
M.O. was alleged to have sexually assaulted his stepdaughter when she was between the ages of 5-9. The allegations were made when the complainant was 19 and shortly after M.O. cut her off financially and told her she needed to support herself. The complainant became incredibly upset when M.O. stopped paying her rent and giving her money to support her lifestyle, while refusing to work.
Leading up to trial, the Complainant sent the prosecutor several emails detailing the allegations, each with differing versions of events. The Complainant also told a member of victim services a different version of events.
After reviewing all the different versions of events that the Complainant had alleged, Cory Wilson was able to convince the prosecutor that there was no likelihood of conviction and the charges were withdrawn prior to trial.
As a result of the allegations, M.O. had his young children removed from his house pending the outcome of an investigation. Thankfully, right after the charges were withdrawn, the children were returned to M.O.
R v. P.T.
Result: Not guilty. No Criminal Record
P.T. was a youth accused of inappropriately touching the genitals a young child she was babysitting. The allegation was adamantly denied by P.T. and caused significant issues for her in the community, at school and at church. Cory Wilson took over the file from another lawyer who told the family of P.T. that there was no defence and that the only option was to plead guilty.
Cory was retained and after meeting with P.T., began working to clear her name. After several meetings with the assigned Crown Prosecutor, the criminal charges were withdrawn. Despite the previous defence lawyer telling the family there was no defence, Cory Wilson was able to have the charges withdrawn within three weeks of being retained.
This was an incredible outcome for P.T. and her entire family.
R v S.Z.
Result: Charges Withdrawn. No Criminal Record
S.Z. was accused by his former girlfriend of sexually assaulting her months after they broke up. She alleged that the client and she were no longer having sexual relations and S.Z. took advantage of her while she was having a panic attack. S.Z. maintained that despite breaking up, they engaged in an ongoing “friends with benefits” relationship including on the night in question. Further, S.Z. admitted to kissing and rubbing the complainant, but not the digital penetration as alleged. S.Z. believed that the kissing and rubbing was consensual, but realized during the incident it was not and stopped. This raised a mistaken belief in consent issue.
After setting the matter down for trial, a section 276 application was made by Cory Wilson to raise the mistaken belief in consent issue by applying to cross-examine the complainant on her previous sexual history with S.Z., that she lied to police about. After making the application and disclosing damning text messages sent by the complainant to S.Z., the prosecutor agreed that there was no likelihood of conviction and stayed the charges.
This was the best outcome S.Z. could hope for.
R v. B.B.
Result: Charges reduced to common assault.
B.B. was accused of rubbing his neighbor’s vagina over her pants after she fell asleep while he was massaging her. She woke to him touching her vagina and then he allegedly asked if she wanted him to preform oral sex on her. It is further alleged that he then tried to grab her breasts before she got out of the bed and left the room. Police were contacted several days later and B.B. gave a very unfavorable statement.
B.B. was retired and he and his wife spent half of the year in the USA. He also has three grandchildren living in the USA. A sexual assault conviction would cause B.B. to be banned from the USA for the rest of his life.
After months of resolution discussions, the Crown Prosecutor was finally swayed by Cory Wilson’s resolution offer to reduce the charge to common assault so that B.B. would be able to travel to the USA.
This was a very favorable resolution as B.B.’s life would have been radically changed if he was convicted of sexual assault.
R v. H.M.
Result: Charges Withdrawn. No Criminal Record
H.M. was charged with two counts of sexual assault as a result of multiple complaints against a group of individuals in a public wave pool. The complainants alleged that they were groped while wadding in the pool. Multiple complainants came forward and described a number of different individuals, thought to be in a group together. H.M. was never identified by the complainants, but was with the identified group and wearing the color shorts the perpetrator was alleged to be wearing.
Knowing that he didn’t do anything wrong, H.M, gave a statement to police, denying guilt but admitted to wearing the shorts in question. Without more evidence, police arrested H.M. for two counts of sexual assault.
Despite the very evidence, the Crown Prosecutor refused to withdraw the charge after initial discussions. However, after Cory Wilson spent hours going through CCTV footage of the pool, he was able to identify H.M. and positively prove he did not commit the office. As a result of this diligence, the Crown Prosecutor withdrew the criminal charges prior to trial.
This was the best possible outcome for H.M. as he was left with no criminal record for the incident and did not have to proceed to trial.
R v. R.C.
Result: Conditional Sentence Order.
R.C. was charged with distribution of intimate images without consent after he went through the phone of his massage therapist and sent himself a number of intimate photos he found on the device. This was only discovered after the masseuse happened to look in her sent box and saw a number of photos being sent to an email address that she was not aware of. After determining it to by R.C., police confronted him and he gave a full confessions. The Crown’s original position was that this was a matter that required a jail sentence of 90 days to be served on weekends. This would have caused R.C. significant difficulty as he is a single father of two young children.
At sentencing, Cory Wilson successfully argued that the sentence was best served by way of a community sentence that allowed the client to be with his children and attend all of their various events. As a result, the children had no interruption in their life and R.C. was able to move forward in a positive manner.
R v. T.O.
Result: Charge Reduced to Common Assault
Our client was charged with sexual assault as a result of allegations that throughout the course of his relationship with the complainant, he would become intoxicated and sexually grope her in front of her young children. The children also gave police statements indicating that they witnessed the incidents. A conviction for sexual assault would be catastrophic for our client including a period of incarceration, loss of employment and inability to travel to the USA for life. After lengthy resolution discussions, Cory Wilson was able to convince the Crown Prosecutor to allow T.O. to plead guilty to the lessor offence of common assault and avoid the possibility of jail. This was a great outcome for the client.
R v. B.S.
Result: Not Guilty. No Criminal Record.
B.S. and his younger brother were accused of sexually assaulting their younger sister for approximately 5 years in the 1970’s. The allegations were made in 2015 after the complainant had been estranged from the family for decades. If convicted, B.S. was facing a lengthy jail sentence. B.S. and his brother unequivocally denied the charges and pled not guilty.
The complainant made incredible allegations of years-long abuse including gang rapes in which she was strung up to the ceiling by bedsheets by her brothers and multiple unidentified individuals. The allegations amounted to over 1500 sexual assaults in a small house shared by 8 siblings, parents, grandmother and foster children. Remarkably, none of the many other people residing in the house witnessed a single act of sexual assault.
During the course of the investigation, the complainant gave a number of statements and subsequently testified at a preliminary inquiry. Over the course of 4 days, Cory cross-examined the complainant on her ever-changing versions of events and provable fabrications. On one significant allegation, Cory had had the complainant admit to committing perjury by intentionally lying under oath at the preliminary inquiry.
At the conclusion of cross-examination, the Crown Prosecutor asked the judge to dismiss all of the charges against B.S. and his brother.
This was the best possible outcome for the client.
R v. N.A.
Result: Not Guilty. No Criminal Record.
N.A. was accused by his two teenage daughters of sexually assaulting them for over a decade. As a result of the allegations, N.A. faced a number of serious charges that if proven, would have resulted in a lengthy period of incarceration. N.A. denied all wrongdoing and pled not guilty.
At trial, Cory meticulously cross-examined each of the complainants and exposed significant inconsistencies in each of their versions of events. Cory was able to show the trial judge that the complaint’s versions of events were both internally and externally inconsistent to the point of being simply unbelievable. N.A. maintained his innocence and testified in his own defence.
Cory argued that the complainants fabricated the sexual assaults to get back at their estranged father for no longer being in their life. At the conclusion of the trial, N.A. was found not guilty which was the best outcome for the client.
R v. E.A.
Result: Not guilty. No Criminal Record.
E.A. was accused by his wife of sexually assaulting her multiple times. She alleged that days after moving to Canada to be with E.A., whom she had met on an online dating site, his behavior suddenly changed and he kept her a as a prisoner in their matrimonial home. She alleged that he refused to let her have contact with the outside world, including speaking with her own family. She further alleged that on the few occasions she was allowed out of the house in his presence, he forced her to walk behind him with her head down. E.A. denied all wrongdoing and pled not guilty.
At trial, Cory cross-examined the complainant for two days. In doing so, he made use of phone records, FaceTime records, photographs, video, secret recordings, previous statements and medical records. Over the course of two days, Cory exposed significant inconsistencies between the complainant’s version of events and the evidence put forward by defence. Cory’s client maintained his innocence and testified in his own defence.
Cory argued that the complainant was committing immigration fraud and fabricated the allegations to support her attempt to remain in Canada and start a new life, without E.A. At the conclusion of the trial, E.A. was found not guilty which was the best outcome.
R v. A.A
Result: Not Guilty. No Criminal Record. Costs Recovered.
A.A. was accused of sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl who lived with her family in the basement suite. The allegations were made by the complainant to her mother at the exact moment she was getting in trouble for leaving the basement suite without permission. It was alleged, that with five people in the home, A.A. snuck the young child into his bedroom while her brother was feet away watching television. A.A. maintained his innocence and pled not guilty.
At trial, multiple witnesses were called by the Crown including a doctor who conducted a medical examination shortly after the sexual assault was alleged to have happened. Cory cross-examined the witness to create a timeline of events that significantly contradicted the complainant’s version. During cross-examination of the doctor, she conceded that her medical findings from her examination of the complainant were inaccurate. A.A. maintained his innocence and testified in his own defence.
Cory argued that based on the timeline of events coupled with the inaccurate medical evidence, the sexual assault was simply impossible. At the conclusion of the trial, A.A. was found not guilty. This was the best possible outcome.
During the trial, Cory was also successful in arguing for Costs (repayment for legal fees) as a result of the government failing to provide an interpreter. It is incredibly rare to successfully recover legal fees in criminal proceedings.
R v. S.T.
Result: Not Guilty. No Criminal Record.
S.T. was accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met at a bar. It was alleged that after a night of drinking and dancing at a downtown bar, the complainant invited S.T. back to her apartment to hang out. While at the apartment, the two continued to drink, had sexual intercourse and fell asleep. The next morning, S.T. left the house after exchanging phone numbers with the complainant. Over the next week, the complainant made numerous attempts to contact S.T. who did not respond. Three weeks after the two spent the night together, the complainant told police that the sexual intercourse was not consensual. S.T. maintained the act was consensual and pled not guilty.
At trial, Cory cross-examined the complainant on her previous inconsistent statement and her many texts and phone calls to S.T. At the end of Cory’s cross-examination, the Crown withdrew the charge which was the best outcome at trial.
R v. C. R.
Result: Charges Withdrawn. No Criminal Record.
C.R. was charged with sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching as a result of allegations made by a 15-year-old girl. It was alleged that C.R. met the complainant on a dating site and began talking online. The complainant told C.R. that she was 18 and recently graduated high school. After talking online for several weeks, the complainant snuck out of her house, met C.R. and engaged in multiple sex acts. The complainant’s parents realized she was missing and contacted the police. After searching through the complainant’s internet history, police were able to contact C.R. who admitted to being with the complainant but then dropping her off at a different location. After the complainant was eventually located, she told police of the sexual activity and C.R. was charged with multiple offences.
After receiving disclosure, including the complainant’s messages to C.R. in which she repeatedly lied about her age, Cory thoroughly investigated the complainant’s online behaviour including ongoing misrepresentations of her age. As a result of what Cory was able to find online, coupled with the issues found in the disclosure, the Crown agreed that there was no likelihood of conviction and withdrew the charges.
R v. K.A.
Result: Charges Withdrawn. No Criminal Record.
K.A. was charged with sexually assaulting a woman in his vehicle while parked outside a shopping centre. It was alleged that K.A. met the complainant earlier in the day and made plans to meet at the mall. After meeting later in the day, the two decided to share a cigarette in K.A.’s vehicle while parked in the mall’s main parking lot. It was alleged that while inside the vehicle, K.A. made a number of sexual advances that were rebuffed by the complainant. It was further alleged that K.A. refused to allow the complainant to exit the vehicle, groped her and held her by her neck. K.A. maintained his innocence and pled not guilty.
During the course of the investigation, the complainant gave inconsistent statements to two different police officers and her close friend with whom she met minutes after the alleged sexual assault. Cory met with the Crown and laid out all of the inconsistencies in the complainant’s version of events. Cory also provided text messages sent to K.A. that the complainant failed to disclose. As a result, the Crown agreed that there was no likelihood of conviction and withdrew the charges.
R v T.W.
Result: Charges Withdrawn. No Criminal Record.
T.W. was charged with sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching. It was alleged that T.W. was in an ongoing sexual relationship with the complainant starting when she was 14 years old. Police were notified of the relationship by a nurse after the complainant and T.W. attended for a medical appointment to confirm the complainant’s pregnancy. Subsequent DNA evidence showed that T.W. was the father of the child. T.W. maintained that he had done nothing wrong and the complainant’s family supported the relationship.
T.W. and the complainant both came to Canada as refugees from Ethiopia. Based on a previous case, Cory was aware that individuals coming to Canada from Ethiopia are often assigned a birthdate while in refugee camps because of a lack of proper paperwork and Ethiopia’s use of a calendar distinct from that used in Canada. As a result, birthdates on immigration documentation given to refugees are not always an accurate reflection of their real age.
Cory met with the complainant’s family and members of the Ethiopian community in an effort to determine the complainant’s actual age. Based on conversions from the Ethiopian calendar to the Canadian calendar, it appeared the complainant was of legal age to consent to sexual activity with T.W. As a result of Cory’s investigation, the Crown agreed that they would be unable to prove the complainant was under age and withdrew the charges.
R v. G.W
Result: Charges Withdrawn. No Criminal Record.
G.W. was charged with sexually assaulting a co-worker. After weeks of flirting at work, the complainant invited G.W. to her apartment to hang out. While at the apartment, the two ate dinner, drank alcohol and watched a movie on her couch. At one point, the complainant told G.W. that they would be more comfortable if they watched the movie in her bed. After laying next to each other and consuming more alcohol, the complainant alleged that she fell asleep and woke to G.W. touching her under her pants. G.W.’s position was that the complainant engaged him in sexual activity and continued to do so until she suddenly jumped out of bed and left the apartment without saying anything.
The matter proceeded to a preliminary inquiry where Cory cross-examined the complainant on her version of events. As a result of admissions the complainant made under cross-examination, the Crown withdrew the charges shortly after the preliminary inquiry. This was the best possible outcome.
R v. S.K.
Result: Charges Withdrawn. No Criminal Record.
S.K. was charged with sexual assault after a security guard alleged that he fondled her buttocks after she attempted to stop him and his friends from entering a parkade. The incident occurred during the Stampede and alcohol was a significant factor. The complainant alleged that she attempted to stop a group of young men who were heavily intoxicated from entering a condominium parkade as they didn’t have the required key card. One of the men walked by her and allegedly grabbed her buttocks for an extended period of time. Police were called and the security guard pointed out S.K. as the person who grabbed her buttocks. As a result of the brief incident, S.K. was charged with sexual assault.
S.K. was a young professional and a criminal conviction for sexual assault would destroy his career. After reviewing the disclosure and speaking with defence witnesses, it was evident that S.K. slapped the security guard’s buttocks as a joke and not in a sexual manner. After providing the Crown with the defence version of events, the charges against S.K. were withdrawn after he made a charitable donation. This favourable resolution left S.K. with no criminal record for the incident.