Ottawa insurance salesman Paul Batchelor, 36, walked out of the Elgin Street courthouse Friday, freshly acquitted in two rape cases after a judge doubted the horrific claims — saying one complainant’s testimony that she was too intimidated to say “no” wasn’t reliable because of her “combative answers on the stand.”
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Abergel, his defence lawyer, told court that it was simply a case where the sexual activity started to go further than what the complainant originally intended, and when she realized Batchelor wanted to have intercourse, she decided against it and left his apartment.
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The judge said both the complainant and the accused testified in a credible way, and while some of their testimony corroborated the beginning of the day in question, their version of how it ended was wildly different.
The judge then noted Batchelor’s detailed testimony on how the young woman, through her intimate conduct, actively expressed consent for the oral sex and touching.
“Consent can be given without a word being spoken,” the judge told court.
“Having found Mr. Batchelor to be credible and having accepted his evidence that (the woman) consented to the sexual acts on the bed, I must acquit him of all the charges,” Beaudoin said in his decision on Friday.
Read Garry Dimmock’s full story: Ottawa Citizen
