Law360 Canada ( November 22, 2024, 3:26 PM EST) -- Appeal by accused from his conviction for sexual assault and application by Crown for leave to appeal accused's sentence and if granted, appeal from accused's sentence. The accused was convicted of sexually assaulting two victims, MH and SM and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. The assaults began when the victims were teenagers and continued for several years. The accused and his wife had become close friends with the victims’ parents after meeting at a convention. The accused, who had an interest in providing massages due to sports injuries, began massaging MH and SM at the request of their mother. MH testified that the massages, which started when she was fifteen or sixteen, became sexual by the time she was seventeen. SM, who was cisgendered and identified as female at the time of the offences, testified that the massages began when he was seventeen and turned sexual within a year. The accused admitted to giving the massages but denied any sexual nature, claiming he sought and obtained consent whenever he believed the touching could be construed as inappropriate. The victims disclosed the assaults to their mother and statements were provided to the police shortly thereafter. The trial judge found MH and SM to be credible witnesses and concluded that the accused’s denials did not leave her with reasonable doubt. Consequently, the accused was convicted of sexual assault. On appeal, the accused argued that the trial judge misapprehended the evidence and applied an uneven standard of scrutiny to the testimonies. He contended that the judge misinterpreted his use of the word “uncomfortable” in the text messages and failed to properly consider the inconsistencies in MH's testimony. Regarding the sentence appeal, the Crown argued that the trial judge overemphasized the victims’ ages and failed to appreciate the continuity of harm. The trial judge imposed a total sentence of five years, considering the principle of totality and reducing the sentence for each victim to two and one-half years consecutive....