[1] Following a judge-alone trial, the appellant was convicted of two counts of sexual assault, and one count each of assault causing bodily harm and common assault against the complainant, AB. The offences occurred in three different provinces during a seven-month period between October 2016 and May 2017, after the appellant absconded from a halfway house in Edmonton. The appellant, a self-professed medicine man, was asked by AB’s aunt, KB, to assist AB with her emotional struggles. At the time, the appellant was 54 years of age; AB was 15, turning 16 years of age.
[2] The appellant appeals his convictions, arguing that the trial judge erred in interpreting and applying the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, that the verdict was unreasonable, and that a stay of proceedings arising from lost or destroyed witness statements should have been granted.
[3] For the reasons that follow, the appeal is dismissed.
Continue reading “R v Bouvier, 2024 ABCA 123” → 