The sexual assault conviction for a man who had sex with a 13-year-old-girl in 2011 when he was 26 has been overturned by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.
Michael Tannas was originally sentenced to 14 months in jail.
The trial judge said he accepted that Tannas didn't know the girl's age, but said he should have done more to find out how old she was.
However, the appeal court ruled that just because Tannas didn't ask for the girl's age doesn't mean he didn't take all reasonable steps.
The court ruled that what the victim was wearing and how she was acting, along with the ages of the other people at the parties, should all have been taken into consideration by the trial judge.
The complainant testified at trial she wasn't a willing participant in the sex with Tannas, but the trial judge rejected her account and said he believed she exaggerated her intoxication, understated her interest in Tannas, and was "flippant" on the stand.
However, the judge said that because the girl was under 16, she couldn't have legally consented to have sex with Tannas.
Witnesses described the complainant as wearing mature clothing and two women testified they thought she was 16 or 17 years old because of how she looked. The women said she was drinking and smoking.
(CJME)
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