What is Sexual Assault?

Sexual Assault is defined as an assault of a sexual nature that violates the sexual integrity of the victim. The Supreme Court of Canada held that the act of sexual assault does not depend solely on contact with any specific part of the human anatomy but rather the act of a sexual nature that violates the sexual integrity of the victim. When investigating a sexual assault, there are certain relevant factors to consider: •The part of the body touched •The nature of the contact •The situation in which the contact occurred •The words and gestures accompanying the act •All other circumstances surrounding the act •Any threats that may or may not be accompanied by force.

The victim of the sexual assault can be man or woman and the attacker can be of the same sex as the victim. A spouse may be charged with sexual assault upon the other spouse.

Punishment

Everyone who commits a sexual assault is guilty of •An indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or •An offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding eighteen months.

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I went to the Penticton Law Courts this morning for the first court date of an Oliver man charged with sexual assault. The man charged had not been arrested by police but told of a complaint and a undertaking was given to make court appearances as requested.

The crown has now entered a Stay of Proceedings – entered in court March 13th, 2013