A judge has found a Calgary man not guilty for the second time in connection with a 2011 sexual assault case that gained international attention.
In his decision, the judge said he was found with a reasonable doubt after hearing the testimony of the 19-year-old complainant.
As a result, Alexander Wagar, 29, will walk free for the second time.
“The reaction from the Crown’s perspective is one of concern. We will definitely take it under advisement to see whether or not this is a matter we should take to appeal again. Some of the judge’s comments certainly give pause for future cases of sexual assault and we’ll just take everything under advisement,” said prosecutor, Janice Walsh. “Obviously, this type of decision will have a cooling effect on other complainants coming forward. We have an unfortunate statistic in Canada that most complainants do not come forward and I don’t see how this particular circumstance would change that.”
“I thought the decision was very well thought out and very carefully considered,” said Patrick Flynn, Defence Attorney. “Mr. Wagar has suffered tremendously on this charge. He is the true victim, as far as I’m concerned on this. I can advise you that he’s been in custody for over two years on twice waiting for trial on this matter.”
The case gained international attention when Justice Robin Camp, then a Calgary court judge, asked the victim why she couldn’t have just kept her ‘knees together’.
He suggested that she should have fought off her attacker a bit harder.
Camp acquitted Wagar at the original trial, but a retrial was called in the case and a judicial inquiry was established to investigate whether or not Camp conducted himself properly.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Judicial Council is still working to determine if Camp should be removed from the bench.
There is no information on if the new decision will have any affect on the council's decision.
