← More Recent Successes success stories

Client found not guilty of two counts of Sexual Assault after three-day trial in the Superior Court of Justice, Toronto. This was a historic judgement in which our client was found by the court to be a male victim of domestic (emotional and psychological) violence relevant to his vigilance in seeking consent for sex and his apologetic nature with the complainant. F.Z. and the complainant were married for some two years, and the relationship deteriorated. F.Z. wanted to end the marriage and after asking for a divorce the complainant left the home and launched family court proceedings. F.Z. had transferred back to his parents half a million dollars that was provided for the couple to buy a home. The complainant sent an email to F.Z. stating that she separated from F.Z. the day before F.Z. sent funds back to his parents. About a month later, the complainant attended the police station and gave a statement alleging to historical sexual assault allegations. The complainant provided two threads of messages that she purported to demonstrate that F.Z. had apologized for the sexual assaults. The complainant in her family court proceedings alleged sexual and other abuse and sough maximum financial support and damages. F.Z. retained Joseph Neuberger, Neuberger & Partners LLP, Toronto Criminal Lawyers, to represent him on the charges. After careful review of the disclosure, Joseph obtained from the client hundreds of messages over the course of the marriage that when viewed in a cumulative fashion demonstrated that F.Z. was very much under the control of the complainant. Joseph Neuberger drafted and filed a 276/278 application to introduce at trial other sexual history evidence and all the messages and documents, including filings in the family court proceedings, to undermine the credibility of the complainant. The application was successful. At trial extensive cross-examination of the complainant revealed that the complainant was disingenuous and highly manipulative. The messages and family court material undermined her credibility. Further, Joseph Neuberger, sent F.Z. for assessment and therapy to determine if he was suffering from a disorder because of emotional and psychological abuse. It was apparent to us that F.Z. was indeed abused. At trial in the defence case, the client was called and denied the allegations but also gave details of the abuse he suffered and why it factored into how careful and cautious he was in seeking any consent for sex. Cross-examination of the complainant critically demonstrated that F.Z. had in fact been respectful and cautious about consent up to the day the first alleged sexual assault allegedly occurred. The defence expert psychiatric evidence showed that F.Z. exhibited symptoms of complex trauma consistent with abuse by his wife, and that his behavior consistent with the abuse resulted in him being compliant, apologetic, and extremely careful about how he interacted in all aspects of his life with his wife. At the conclusion of the trial, we drafted written closing submissions quoting extensively from the trial evidence with case law to support the defence that F.Z. was in fact innocent and falsely accused. The Court concluded that the complaint was not credible and that indeed F.Z.’s conduct was consistent with suffering from complex trauma because of being an abused spouse. As such, F.Z. was found not guilty of both charges of sexual assault.