Thread by @AlexaMacLean902

In Halifax Provincial Court today to cover Judge Ann Marie Simmons decision in the Bassam Al-Rawi sex assault trial.

Background on this story here:

Former Halifax taxi driver committed two acts of sexual offence, Crown tells court globalnews.ca/news/5340070/h…

Bassam Al-Rawi arrives with a woman who has been with him throughout the entire retrial. Judge Ann Marie Simmons has just arrived. Court is in session.

Offence alleged to have occurred in early morning hours of Al-Rawi’s cab. Police officer found him with an unconscious woman in backseat.

Court heard 10 days of evidence between January and May. Judge Simmons says her decision is based solely on evidence called during retrial.

Crown alleges Al-Rawi removed female complainants underwear while she was unconscious. Crown also alleges females DNA found on his mouth.

Al-Rawi testified during his retrial and steadfastly denied allegations. Says female was erratic and claims she removed her own underwear.

Al-Rawi didn’t provide a reason to the court as to why the female allegedly removed her own underwear.

A reminder: the identity of the female is protected under a publication ban. All details that may identify her won’t be reported on.

Simmons reviews caselaw outlining varying levels of consent. Simmons reminds court there is no burden on Al-Rawi to prove his innocence.

Al-Rawi’s evidence is in complete denial of any sexual touching with the female.

Simmons says task of reviewing evidence isn’t a credibility exercise. Says she must carefully analyze all admissible evidence.

Simmons says she may accept some, all, or none of testimonies given by witnesses.

Crown argues Simmons should reject Al-Rawi’s evidence as uncredible.

Crown’s case relies on direct and circumstantial evidence.

Simmons says Crown relied heavily on circumstantial evidence in this case.

Simmons says she must consider other plausible theories and other reasonable possibilities which are inconsistent with guilt.

Simmons says other plausible theories must be based on logic applied to the evidence and not on speculation.

Simmons says her task is to take into consideration all of the evidence that is relevant to each element of the offence.

Now to the evidence...

Simmons begins with females activity prior to entering taxi. She is reviewing personal details of female. Character traits, etc.

Female didn’t eat any supper prior to going out that evening. Drank five beers. Simmons reviewing timeline of activities.

Female told the court during walk to Boomers (nightclub) she felt “quite intoxicated.” Female drank more alcohol when she arrived.

Female testified she had no memory of being at Boomers bar, outside bar, or getting into taxi. Her next memories are of police outside cab.

Female testified she didn’t consume alcohol very often during 2015 (the year the allegation occurred).

Simmons reviewing text messages the female exchanged with a friend during that night. Female testified she had no memory of this exchange.

The sex assault allegation occurred on May 23, 2015. She testified no recollection of interaction with Al-Rawi.

Female told the court she wouldn’t have consented to have her clothes removed by Al-Rawi, or engage in sexual activity.

Female couldn’t disagree with defences theory that she flagged down cab and sat in front seat.

Female couldn’t disagree with defences theory that she removed her clothes. She agreed alcohol may cause her to behave differently.

Simmons now reviewing evidence given by females friends. Those friends were with the female the night of the allegation.

The woman’s friend testified she was extremely intoxicated. Friend told the court she tried to persuade complainant to take a cab home.

Friends testified the woman ended up running away from them. Friends also testified that the woman wasn’t exhibiting normal behaviours.

Simmons now reviewing evidence given by a Bob’s Taxi employee. Evidence outlined activity log recordings.

Judge reviews evidence given by the police officer who found Al-Rawi’s parked taxi, Const. Monia Thibault.

Thibault says she left police headlights on while she approached taxi because area was dark.

Thibault says only back seat window was fogged up. She observed female passenger naked from waist down w/her legs resting on front seats.

Thibault then testified she told Al-Rawi to “get the f**k out of the cab.”

Thibault told the court she didn’t witness Al-Rawi physically touch the woman, says he was between her legs when she approached the taxi.

Thibault told court she didn’t know where Al-Rawi’s hands were when she approached the vehicle. Says he was positioned towards back of cab.

Thibault told court she didn’t see Al-Rawi’s buttock lifted up off of seat, tells court it was her assumption given the position he was in.

Simmons now summarizing her interpretation of Const. Monia Thibat’s evidence.

Simmons says driver was in his seat but because he was turned facing rear, his butt wasn’t completely in his seat.

Judge says on two significant occasions Thibault’s evidence seemed to blend observation with fact.

Simmons says aspects of Thibault’s evidence require careful scrutiny based on what she actually saw and what she thinks she saw.

Thibault testified she observed Al-Rawi’s pants were undone and partially pulled down when he got out of his vehicle.

Simmons says Thibault smelled alcohol coming from backseat, observed woman was passed out but started coming to she she placed hand on her.

Thibault said woman became distressed she she realized the state of her dress. Thibault described her eyes as glassy and bloodshot.

Thibault said she called EHS and attempted to calm her down by telling her she had done nothing wrong.

Thibault said she concluded woman had urinated herself. Simmons says passage of time impacted Thibault’s ability to recount events.

Simmons says she must consider these aspects when considering all of Thibault’s evidence.

Now Simmons is removing evidence given by Const Jason Marriott.

Marriott describes woman’s buttock suspended on rear seat in centre of console.

Marriott was the officer who responded when Thibault called for backup.

***reviewing***

Simmons is reviewing Marriott’s evidence, not removing it. Typo.

Simmons says a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) was called to hospital to conduct a sexual assault examination of the woman.

SANE nurse told court the woman was calm but teary eyed. Says no physical injuries were noted. No loose hairs or semen were found on her.

SANE nurse said woman was sufficiently sober to conduct the examination.

Simmons now reviewing evidence on how the woman’s clothing was collected, photographed and stored.

A forensic toxicologist with the RCMP testified as an expert witness during this retrial and reviewed blood and urine analysis of woman.

Toxicologist described different levels of intoxication and the effects that go with it including slurred speech and emotional disturbances

Simmons says toxicologist was asked to give opinion evidence based on her expertise. Her opinion was that woman was severely intoxicated.

Simmons calls for a 15 minute break.

Simmons now reviewing evidence given by DNA expert.

Martin Westecott answered questions about the DNA samples collected from both the complainant and Al-Rawi in the hours after the incident.

Woman’s underwear were analyzed for presence of semen, none was identified. Westecott says Al-Rawi’s mouth showed DNA from the woman.

Const. Marshall Hewitt was called in to assist with investigation on May 23, 2015. Forensic examination involved photographing Al-Rawi.

Al-Rawi’s clothing was seized and photographed. Al-Rawi wasn’t wearing a belt. Hewitt says he swabbed his fingers, penis and outer lips.

Hewitt says he observed nothing unusual about Al-Rawi’s clothing but it was seized as best practice.

The following day Hewitt examined and photographed Al-Rawi’s taxi, searched car for potential DNA evidence.

Al-Rawi was born in Baghdad, Iraq and obtained a degree in biochemical engineering. He is a Canadian citizen.

He currently resides in Germany with his wife of three-years and runs a company with 30 employees.

In 2015, Al-Rawi drove a taxi on the weekends. He was training at a flight school to obtain his pilots license.

Al-Rawi says when the woman entered his taxi he pressed a button that would allow the exact location of his travels to be sent to dispatch.

Al-Rawi testified that he has carried a condom in his wallet since he was 23-years-old.

Al-Rawi testified that one ball cap in the car belonged to him and the other belonged to the woman. Says she wore it when she entered.

Al-Rawi testified he had undone his pants when he began driving for his shift so he could be comfortable.

Al-Rawi testified that woman got into front seat of his taxi. Picked the woman up on Grafton Street near pizza corner. Says she flagged him

Al-Rawi testified the woman didn’t give him an address. He told court the woman was looking at her phone and crying.

Al-Rawi says the woman would give hand signals as to where she wanted to go, no verbal communication.

Al-Rawi told the court he asked the woman if she had boy drama, told the court the woman said yes

Al-Rawi testified the woman kept giving hand signals, they were travelling down South Park Street. He assumed she was a student.

Al-Rawi testified he complimented the woman in order to boost her morale, calm her down and help her communicate the destination.

Al-Rawi testified the woman asked him if he was single, he said no. She also asked to get out and urinate.

Al-Rawi says when the woman got out of the car to urinate he noticed her seat was wet. He determined the ride would need to end.

Al-Rawi testified that despite him asking her to pay and end the ride, she jumped into the backseat.

Al-Rawi testified that the woman told him to “cruise around.” Al-Rawi told the court he knew she was drunk.

Al-Rawi testified that the woman stretched out her legs and placed them on the backseat. Says he told the woman he would call the police.

Al-Rawi said he intended to bring her back to pizza corner where he knew police officers would be present.

Al-Rawi says when Const. Thibault approached the taxi his foot was still on the gas pedal and car wasn’t parked.

Al-Rawi testified he felt very afraid when Const. Thibault told him to get out of the vehicle.

Al-Rawi’s evidence is that he didn’t adjust his pants when he got out of taxi, his button was undone as it had been all shift.

Al-Rawi testified he felt depressed and a sense of injustice.

Al-Rawi disagreed with the Crown’s theory that the area he was parked in was isolated.

Al-Rawi disagrees with theory that he didn’t get out of his taxi when officer approached because he was hiding the woman’s clothing.

Simmons says Al-Rawi has dealt with many intoxicated passengers.

Al-Rawi maintains that the woman kissed him on his cheek and placed her hand on his neck.

Al-Rawi testified that he knows that physical contact isn’t appropriate between a driver and passenger.

Al-Rawi testified he had to stop in south end because he couldn’t drive any further due to the position of the woman’s legs in the backseat

Crown alleges inappropriate behaviour on behalf of Al-Rawi by suggesting he flirted w/woman, asked inappropriate questions, condom in wallet

Al-Rawi disagreed with Crown that he was flirting with the woman. Told court he was trying to calm her down.

Al-Rawi theorized condom fell out of his wallet when police took his materials to photograph. Crown suggests condom was “at the ready.”

Simmons says she isn’t prepared to draw inference that the condom was going to be used for a sexual assault given circumstances of evidence

Simmons says Al-Rawi gave thorough and articulate evidence.

Simmons is now reviewing whether the woman had the capacity to consent to sexual activity with Al-Rawi.

Simmons says it goes without saying that while the woman was lying unresponsive she couldn’t consent to sexual activity.

Theory of Crown is that Al-Rawi committed sexual assault on woman by removing her jeans and underwear.

Crown also suggests that Al-Rawi committed a sexual assault on the woman by using his mouth.

Simmons says she is not persuaded that Al-Rawi confined the woman to his cab by driving to a secluded area in the south end.

Simmons says it’s plausible for Al-Rawi to drive towards the south end because he thought she was a student.

Simmons says she isn’t persuaded to infer that the location of the taxi was consistent with a location chosen for seclusion.

Simmons says she is mindful of the evidence that there weren’t any physical marks or injuries on the woman when she was examined at hospital

Simmons says positioning of woman’s body when Const. Thibault approached the taxi is critical.

Simmons says she is not persuaded to accept that the woman’s legs were resting on the edges of the seat.

Simmons says police officers gave contradicting evidence regarding placement of the woman’s legs.

Simmons says she rejects the argument that Const. Thibault’s evidence should be given more weight because she is a woman.

Simmons accepts Thibault’s evidence that the woman was unresponsive. Says there is no direct evidence of when she entered this state.

Simmons accepts Al-Rawi’s evidence that approximate driving time was five minutes.

Simmons says she isn’t prepared to accept that a sexual assault occurred while taxi was in motion.

Simmons concludes that evidence doesn't exclude possibility of secondary transfer of DNA to Al-Rawi's outer lips.

Crown suggests that Al-Rawi was fumbling to hide woman's clothing as after-the-fact conduct. Thibault believes he was trying to hide woman's wet jeans and underwear.

Simmons rejects suggestion that she should infer that Al-Rawi reclined his seat to have better access to the woman.

Simmons says she accepts that Al-Rawi's pants button was undone due to comfort.

Crown suggests woman wouldn't have entered frontseat, wouldn't have kissed or hugged Al-Rawi, or removed her own clothing.

Simmons says she has no difficulty accepting that if the woman was sober she wouldn't have down those things. She goes on to list all of the things she believes the woman wouldn't do if she was sober.

Simmons says Al-Rawi's account of the nine minutes the woman was in his taxi was compelling, not implausible as the Crown suggests.

Simmons says it defines logic to think Al-Rawi would stop in a residential, non-secluded area to commit a sexual offence.

Judge says she must not fall into error by filling in the gaps and engaging in speculation.

Judge isn't satisfied by Crown's suggestion that Al-Rawi removed the woman's clothing.

BREAKING: Former Halifax taxi driver Bassam Al-Rawi found not guilty in the 2015 sexual assault allegation.

Bassam Al-Rawi left the courthouse with his wife. He declined to comment. Al-Rawi is scheduled to be back in Halifax this January to face a separate count of sexual assault. Judge-alone trial expected to last 10 days.

Correction: Al-Rawi is scheduled to appear in Supreme Court in Halifax for a judge-alone trial starting Feb. 20, 2020.

I thought it was January, it begins in February.

This trial is for a different sexual assault charge than the one Al-Rawi was acquitted from today.

Hear post verdict comments from Crown attorneys Carla Ball and Jennifer MacLellan. Comments range from limitations on Crown's right to appeal, to woman's character shown during retrial.

Hear post verdict comments from defence attorney Ian Hutchison. Comments range from impact proceedings have had on Al-Rawi's life, to the weight Al-Rawi's testimony carried in the retrial.

Protest promptly planned in Halifax following Al-Rawi not-guilty verdict globalnews.ca/news/5856035/a…