R. v. Sieber

R. v. Sieber

DNA evidence corroborated intercourse and the court preferred the complainant's account that she was intoxicated and unconscious during intercourse, establishing lack of capacity to consent; although the accused's subjective belief as to age was not disproven, he failed to take all reasonable steps to ascertain age (Facebook birthdate alone was insufficient given the large age gap and unreliability of online information), so mistake of age defence fails and both sexual assault (s.271) and sexual interference (s.151) are proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Citation
2023 BCSC 1590
Parties
Crown: Rex; Accused: Frederick Kayo Sieber; Complainant: M.M.
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
7 September 2023
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Trial Judgment (oral Reasons)
Outcome
Accused found guilty on Count 1 (sexual assault) and Count 2 (sexual interference)
Legal Topics
Sexual Assault, Sexual Interference, Mistake of Age, Consent Capacity, Reasonable Doubt, Credibility Assessment
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Sexual Offences Evidence Sexual Assault Sexual Interference Mistake of Age Consent Capacity Reasonable Doubt +1 more

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Parties

Rex

Crown

Frederick Kayo Sieber

Accused

M.M.

Complainant

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Trial Judgment (oral Reasons)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether sexual intercourse occurred while the complainant was unconscious and therefore incapable of consenting
  2. 2 Whether the accused had an honest belief that the complainant was at least 16 years old
  3. 3 Whether the accused took all reasonable steps to ascertain the complainant's age

Ratio Decidendi

DNA evidence corroborated intercourse and the court preferred the complainant's account that she was intoxicated and unconscious during intercourse, establishing lack of capacity to consent; although the accused's subjective belief as to age was not disproven, he failed to take all reasonable steps to ascertain age (Facebook birthdate alone was insufficient given the large age gap and unreliability of online information), so mistake of age defence fails and both sexual assault (s.271) and sexual interference (s.151) are proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Court Disposition

Accused found guilty on Count 1 (sexual assault) and Count 2 (sexual interference)

Orders

  • Convicted of sexual assault contrary to s.271 of the Criminal Code
  • Convicted of sexual interference contrary to s.151 of the Criminal Code