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By LegalMatters Staff • Messages sent on social media platforms are playing an increasingly large role in sexual assault cases, says Ottawa criminal lawyer Céline Dostaler.
“In about 80 per cent of the cases I defend, electronic correspondence is part of the evidence. Sometimes it supports the complainant and other times it reinforces the accused’s statements,” Dostaler says.
She gives the example of a teacher accused of sexual assault involving a student. The complainant claimed the sexual relationship started before her 18th birthday, meaning that she was unable to legally provide consent.
During the trial, Dostaler showed the court a message given just months before that birthday, where the complainant provided her phone number to the teacher so they could exchange text messages.
“I was able to raise doubt as to whether they had exchanged messages earlier,” she said. “If their private relationship only started in May, the court agreed it seemed likely a sexual relationship may not have occurred until after her birthday in June.”
Dostaler says she has also had cases where social media messages worked against her clients. She gives the example of a client who sent a Snapchat message to a woman whom he had sex with while she was sleeping.
“Were you awake? Even just a little?” he asked her.
“He was convicted since someone cannot consent to sex if they are sleeping,” she said.
