Judge finds southeastern Manitoba man guilty in sexually assaulting girlfriend

A southeastern Manitoba man was found guilty of groping and assaulting his girlfriend on Feb. 20.

Provincial court Judge Donald Slough read his decision in a Steinbach court room after a two-day trial concluded in December. The accused was found guilty to two counts of sexual assault and one count of assault.

The Carillon can’t release the names of the complainant or the accused due to a court-ordered publication ban.

The 20-year-old was called to the stand, dressed in a black suit and wearing sneakers, and listened to Slough’s verdict.

“My overall assessment of the complainant’s evidence was it was both credible and reliable,” Slough told the court.

The Crown called the 20-year-old complainant as its only witness during the trial. Court heard the accused and the complainant met in October 2023 and began a romantic relationship. When visiting the complainant’s home, he invited her downstairs to a makeshift bedroom and began taking off her shirt and bra, kissing her breasts and neck. The complainant testified that she froze and wasn’t able to speak. After she said no to giving oral sex, the accused drove her back to her college dorm 30 minutes later. She said the accused didn’t ask for consent and that she didn’t consent to any of his actions.

A second incident involved the accused slapping the complainant’s buttocks, leaving a hand print and bruising. A photo of the bruise was shown to the court. The complainant testified the accused had a rule that both of them shouldn’t take off their pants during sexual activity. Court heard of a third incident in January 2024 where the accused put his finger in her vagina while the watching a movie. While the complainant didn’t say anything, she offered oral sex to make him stop and she was uncomfortable. After five minutes, he told her to stop, took off her pants and put on a condom. The complainant said she covered her face with her hands and her body began to shake as he started having sex.

“She described feeling frightened and frozen while this took place. She testified this was not something she wanted to occur and that she found the experience terrifying,” Slough read.

After he was finished, the accused drove her home, and they broke up after a week, court heard. The complainant went to the police eight months later and gave a statement about the incidents.

The accused testified he received consent on all occasions, but acknowledged the slap was harder than intended and he didn’t try to hurt her. Court heard he broke up with the complainant because they had sex before marriage and it went against his religion.

Slough took issue with the accused testifying that the condoms in his room were there only due to practical jokes with his friends.

“In assessing (the accused’s) credibility, I found some of his evidence to be unbelievable,” he said.

Slough also noted he didn’t believe the accused sought or received consent from the complainant during the incidents.

He told the court despite the complainant testified she experienced “brain fog” when recalling details caused by multiple concussions, she was reliable.

“After considering all the evidence and my findings regarding credibility and reliability, I find the Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that on two occasions, (the accused) committed sexual assault, and on one occasion, he committed assault,” Slough said.”

A sentencing date hasn’t been set.