Episode 2: W.W. v. His Majesty the King
W.W. v. His Majesty the King
Despite the fact that the trial judge found that the appellant sent sexually explicit material to a minor, the trial judge was left in doubt as to whether (a) the identity of the appellant was made out on the video as an element of the offence, and (b) the specific intent to commit one of the enumerated offences, reasoning that it could have been simply a case of “flirtation”. The appellant was acquitted at trial of transmitting sexually explicit material to a person under the age of 16 for the purpose of facilitating the commission of either a sexual assault or the indecent act of exposing his genital organs to a person under 16 years of age for a sexual purpose.
The Ontario Court of Appeal held that neither the identity of the accused in the video or the specific intent to commit an enumerated offence was an element of the offences required to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to secure a conviction. The Court took specific issue with justifying inappropriate behaviour by adults as “flirtation” with a minor. The acquittal was set aside and convictions entered because the Court of Appeal held that but for those errors by the trial judge, the appellant would have been convicted at trial.