This man would still be in jail if he lived in Canada, which has recently passed Bill C-51, expanding the “rape shield” protections for sexual assault complainants by restricting the ability of the accused to use communications by a complainant or witness that are “of a sexual nature” or “for a sexual purpose” as part of his defence, particularly to establish the defence of “mistaken belief in consent” (remember Lucy DeCoutere’s email to Ghomeishi following an allegedly harrowing assault, “I love your hands!”?).
An accused will be prohibited from introducing these kinds of sexually explicit texts or emails as evidence in court unless a judge first rules them to be admissible, after conducting a closed hearing with the Crown prosecutor, which the complainant may attend, accompanied by her own lawyer if she chooses (giving the phrase “lawyered up” new depth of meaning).
Here's a blurb ...
"A man who spent more than two years in jail for a rape he did not commit had his conviction quashed after a relative took only a minute to uncover a series of bombshell Facebook messages – missed by police – that proved his innocence.
In the latest rape case to highlight failings in the criminal justice system, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the jury at Danny Kay’s 2013 trial was only shown doctored transcripts of crucial Facebook chats between Mr Kay and his accuser.
In an exclusive interview with the MoS, Mr Kay said archived versions of the original messages – proving he had consensual sex with his accuser – were found by his sister-in-law, Sarah Maddison. When she showed the Facebook exchange to the officer in charge of the investigation, he said: ‘How did you know how to find the messages and we didn’t?’"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5223567/Man-rape-conviction-quashed-police-blunder.html
