SASKATCHEWAN - A Saskatchewan principal convicted of touching an underage person for a sexual purpose will be getting a new trial.
Justice Brenda Hildebrandt, in considering an appeal by the principal, ordered that his conviction in relation to the charge for which he was sentenced as well as an additional guilty finding on a charge that was stayed be set aside and a new trial be held.
The Nov. 12 decision came after an appeal was filed the day of the principal’s sentencing, Sept. 1, 2023.
In her written decision, Justice Hildebrandt stated, “In light of the errors of law, which include both a misapprehension of the evidence and a failure to address, in the reasons for judgment, the issue of reliability of witness testimony as well as the evidence of the game in which the members of the grade 7 class were engaged at the pertinent time, the appeal … is allowed.”
The game to which Justice Hildebrandt referred was one of students grabbing other students’ buttocks.
“I certainly recognize and appreciate the challenges in rendering reasons in cases involving inappropriate sexual conduct. However, in a situation such as this: where the identity of the perpetrator is the central issue; the complainant did not see who touched [them]; events occurred in a crowded hallway at a time when a reasonable alternate explanation for the incident – being the grade 7 butt-grabbing game – was present; and the reliability of the two student witnesses is in issue, the sufficiency of the reasons provided must be questioned.”
The accused had also appealed his six-month sentence, however Justice Hildebrandt wrote, “Given my conclusions regarding the conviction appeal, it is unnecessary to consider the sentencing appeal.
