Law360 Canada ( November 15, 2024, 2:18 PM EST) -- Appeal by Crown from a judgment of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal which upheld the dismissal of charges against the accused. The accused and the complainant lived in a common law relationship. The complainant stated that she was compelled by the accused to engage in sex work from which he primarily benefited. The accused was charged with trafficking in persons and receiving a material benefit from it. Although the trial judge accepted that the complainant had been subjected to threats, intimidation and injury, he acquitted the accused of both charges because the only evidence of exploitation and attempted exploitation came from the complainant whose credibility he did not accept. He held that the other witnesses called by the Crown did not directly address the essential elements of the offences. Their evidence, which was limited to the existence of violence, did not establish exploitation. The majority of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. It concluded that the trial judge erred in law by describing the accused’s violent conduct as simply "past discreditable conduct”, however that mischaracterization was not material to the acquittal. It also held that the trial judge did not fail to consider all the evidence or misapprehend the legal effect of any finding of fact. The Crown argued that the trial judge failed to consider all the evidence. The accused responded that the trial judge properly considered the evidence of the other witnesses as well as all documentary evidence....