Conviction appeal on charges including aggravated assault and sexual assault. Complainant was a young male who lived with the accused. Evidence was that the accused beat and confined the complainant over an extended period, and forced the complainant to engage in sexual acts.
Held: Appeal dismissed.
Lack of consent established. The complainant was manipulated into compliance through fear. Argument that the offence not proven because the complainant was the actor, rather than the recipient of the sexual acts, rejected. The test is objective: whether the sexual nature of an act would be visible to a reasonable observer. “The part of the body touched, the nature of the contact, the situation in which it occurred … and all other circumstances will be relevant. Forcing someone to perform sexual manipulations orally or manually falls within this definition.”
A. Sanders – Defence Counsel