CASE STUDY: Acquittal of Criminal Harassment and Distributing Intimate Image Without Consent

Mr. G was charged following a difficult separation with Ms. X, the mother of his child. They were going through oppositional family court proceedings in a dispute over access to his growing child when Ms. X went to the police making allegations that he had shared intimate images of her without her consent. According to her, Mr. G had attached a tracking device to her car and stole the images off of her IPad. These claims were made in the middle of an incredibly stressful time in Mr. G’s life, and he believed that Ms. X made these claims as a way to get a leg up in the family court dispute.

The goal was to go to trial and prove Mr. G’s innocence, because he strenuously denied both of these allegations. Furthermore, an acquittal would mitigate the serious damage that such claims could do to his chances in family court.

The strategy was to have Mr. G provide his own testimony about his version of events, to challenge Ms. X’s version of events. Mr. G ultimately wanted to show the court that his version of events was the true version of events, or at least that his story raised doubts about the allegations that Ms. X was making. To put it in a more concise way, the strategy was to raise doubts about Ms. X’s version of events and insistencies; and to highlight the believability of his version of events. Not only would this resolve the matter legally, it would also provide personal vindication for Mr. G and put him in a better position for his proceedings in family court.

It wound up being a two day trial following the Crown’s case and the examination of the witnesses. There were doubts that were raised from Ms. X’s testimony, and so the defense called Mr. G to testify. Mr. G addressed both allegations and his denial and his story while he was testifying. Ultimately, the judge believed that he was a reliable and credible witness, and that his story had corroborated some of the doubts that were raised in Ms. X’s testimony. Mr. G’s honesty was able to shine through. In the end, the judge found the crown didn’t meet the standard of proving the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, so Mr. G was acquitted on both counts.