(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)

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A BC judge has found an international high school staying in Kelowna not guilty of sexually assaulting a young Kelowna woman.

They young woman recounted allegations of what she said were three sexual assaults from a December 2022 night, but her story didn't hold up to scrutiny, Justice Monica McParland found in a recently published, Nov. 16, BC Supreme Court decision.

Their identities are protected by a publication ban.

The pair were together with two other friends that night. They drank alcohol and talked for a few hours at a local lookout point, and then drove around Kelowna.

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The first sexual assault she alleged was in the backseat of the car they were all in. She climbed into the back to sit beside him, where the two began to kiss. It escalated as he grabbed her breasts and put his hand under her pants.

Around 2 a.m., the car pulled up to the house where he was living, which was with a homestay family as an international high school student. She asked if he'd like her to join, and he agreed.

She arranged for their friend to come back in a half hour to take her home, and they had proceeded to have sex once inside but she said she was sexually assaulted.

Although he didn't testify there was outspoken consent, he believed her actions in the bedroom indicated she was consenting. He testified similarly when he later sent the friend away so they could have more time inside, according to the decision. They had sex a second time, which was the third allegation of sexual assault.

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They Snapchatted each other immediately after and had what appeared to be a candid conversation. They continued texting the next day. McParland closely scrutinized the texts which gave no indication of an issue.

"How was it u think," he asked later that morning.

"It was decent you?" she responded.

"Haha I believe it must be one of ur best experiences lol It was more than an hour." She later sent him two videos from the night before.

A week later, she reported the sexual assault to police.

McParland was left doubting whether she was reliable, finding several inconsistencies in her version of all three claimed assaults. McParland noted the complainant seemed to be surprised the Snapchats existed. She had told police and the court she never spoke to him until the next day. She told the court "it did not cross her mind" to tell police about the Snapchat exchange.

"Quite simply, in all of these circumstances the explanation “it did not cross [her] mind” defies belief and common sense," McParland wrote. "(The complainant) reported the sexual assault to the police the next day.... She took the time to prepare a typed statement without being asked to do so and had significant time to think about it. She agreed she reviewed it closely before submitting it, and also showed it to her mom. When she attended to give an interview (with police), she delivered the typed statement. She agreed she was asked about post-offence communications with (the accused). The notion that it “did not cross [her] mind” to mention that she told the accused the sex was “decent” moments after the alleged sexual assault had occurred, defies belief and common sense. It must have been self-evident to her that this text exchange would be a very important piece of information relevant to the question of consent."

The international student was acquitted on Nov. 16 after the Kelowna trial.

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