Canada: man acquitted of rape as judge says accuser 'combative' in court

• Paul Batchelor, 34, found not guilty in two cases in Ottawa
• Judge: ‘Consent can be given without a word being spoken’

Tracey Lindeman in Ottawa
Thu 27 Jun 2019 19.34 BST

An accused rapist in Canada has been acquitted in two cases after a judge found one alleged victim to be “combative” on the stand and the other to be unreliable because her timing was off by one hour.

Paul Batchelor, 34, had been facing two counts of sexual assault and two of forcible confinement.

In handing down his decision, Justice Robert Beaudoin sided with the defence’s explanation that the women had requested rough sex. “Consent can be given without a word being spoken,” Beaudoin told the court, as reported by the Ottawa Citizen.

The encounters happened in May and June of 2015. Both women’s names are protected by a publication ban.

Batchelor is still facing three other, separate accusations of rape, to be tried in court next year.

In Friday’s acquittal, Beaudoin also told the court he didn’t believe one of the women’s claims she was too intimidated to say “no” because she had been “combative” while on the stand.

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