Kamloops man convicted of sexual assault chokes to death after judge refuses to join defense – Kamloops News

On By Pranco

A Kamloops man who raped and strangled his friend didn’t have consent just because she didn’t say the words “no” or “stop.”

That’s what a judge ruled after Good Leary’s “he-said-she-said” trial in BC Supreme Court on charges of sexual assault and assault by asphyxiation. He was convicted on both counts.

Leary, 48, was charged in connection with an incident on March 5, 2022, at his home in Kamloops.

The victim, who cannot be named due to a court-ordered publication ban, said she has known Leary for more than a decade. She said they exchanged flirty text messages and she found him attractive.

On the day of the incident, Leary invited the woman over after sending her a sexually suggestive message. The woman said she had previously told Leary that she was not looking for sex.

Inside his home, Leary forced himself on the woman and strangled her while raping her.

During the trial, Leary’s attorney argued that the woman’s evidence should not be believed, in part because she never said no or told Leary to stop, and because she never tried to leave his home.

BC Supreme Court Justice Brad Smith said he could not agree with such claims.

“To argue that (her) evidence is less credible because her evidence is that she remained silent and passive, or failed to resist Mr. Leary’s advances, is to rely on myths and stereotypes about complainants of sexual assault and judging (her) credibility based on discrepancies between her behavior and the actions of an expected victim of sexual assault,” Smith said in court Tuesday.

“Such reasoning is an error of law and I refuse to participate in it.”

Smith rejected suggestions that the victim made up the allegations because she was a scorned lover.

“This argument is completely baseless,” he said.

“Regardless of the strength of the evidence that a sexual assault complainant was held in contempt, it is an error for the law to discredit him or her by relying on the myth and stereotype that scorned women fabricate allegations of sexual assault.”

Leary is not in custody. Lawyers will return to court on December 9 to set a date for his sentencing hearing.