Case information

Criminal law — Evidence — Whether the trial judge and Court of Appeal erred in law by failing to follow binding jurisprudence that courts should not draw an adverse inference on a witness’s credibility if the witness testifies for the first time as to exculpatory evidence at trial already disclosed to defence counsel because the witness did not disclose the evidence to the police or the Crown — Whether the trial judge reversed the onus of proof in assessing circumstantial evidence — Whether the trial judge and the Court of Appeal misinterpreted the testimony of an expert witness — Whether the Court of Appeal and the trial judge erred in assessing credibility?

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Police found 7 images and 34 videos of child pornography on Mr. Oake’s cellphone. In separate proceedings, Mr. Oake’s tenant who lived with him in a shared living space pleaded guilty to possession and distribution of thousands of videos and images of child pornography. Mr. Oake’s counsel relied on evidence from Mr. Oake’s girlfriend at the time of his arrest, circumstantial evidence, cross-examination of an expert, and inconsistency in the tenant’s evidence to argue that the tenant used Mr. Oake’s cellphone and downloaded the child pornography without Mr. Oake’s knowledge. The trial judge convicted Mr. Oake on both counts. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal.