torontopoli:

allthecanadianpolitics:

An accused rapist in Canada has been acquitted in two cases after a judge found one alleged victim to be “combative” on the stand and the other to be unreliable because her timing was off by one hour.

Paul Batchelor, 34, had been facing two counts of sexual assault and two of forcible confinement.

In handing down his decision, Justice Robert Beaudoin sided with the defence’s explanation that the women had requested rough sex. “Consent can be given without a word being spoken,” Beaudoin told the court, as reported by the Ottawa Citizen.

The encounters happened in May and June of 2015. Both women’s names are protected by a publication ban.

Batchelor is still facing three other, separate accusations of rape, to be tried in court next year.

In Friday’s acquittal, Beaudoin also told the court he didn’t believe one of the women’s claims she was too intimidated to say “no” because she had been “combative” while on the stand.

Julie Lalonde, an Ottawa educator and women’s rights advocate, took issue with the judge’s comments.

“The idea that because you get agitated while you’re being cross-examined in a courtroom, that you must be an assertive person 24/7, is a really damaging myth to put out into the world,” said Lalonde.

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Judge Robert Beaudoin’s contact info:

613 239-1400 (Phone)

613 239-1507 (Fax)

Would you be surprised if I told you he has a history of being partial and lashing out at people accusing him of such?

Judge Accused of Conflict of Interest Loses Decorum and Withdraws from Case

Would you be surprised if I told you he was appointed by Stephen Harper (in a process the NDP called shady) after saving his ass in a trial?

Judicial appointment process raises alarm | Law Times

Would you be surprised if I told you he refused to let allegations of a man sexually assaulting a 15 year old be heard in a case about the man sexually assaulting other teen girls, because “he hadn’t been charged yet?”

New sex assault charges against Hartman