Teen asks for conditional discharge in sex-assault case

An Edmonton teenager at the centre of the "no mean no" case told court Friday he now sees the sexual assault he committed last fall as "the biggest mistake of my life."

In youth court on Friday, the teen sat beside his lawyer dressed in a suit and tie, his head bowed. The boy's father sat in the front row of the courtroom, anxiously leaning forward.

The boy was in Grade 10 last October when he approached a girl he had never met after classes ended. He asked if she had a boyfriend, then touched or slapped her buttocks several times.

The incident was captured on school surveillance video. The boy tried to kiss the 15 year old, then the two moved out of camera range. Court was told the boy grabbed the girl's buttocks again, then her breasts, and tried to kiss her. She tried to push him away and fend him off with a water bottle.

The boy said she should "just let him do it."

The girl said no.

A provincial court youth judge acquitted the boy on a sexual assault charge in April.

But that acquittal was overturned in July, and the teenager was sent back to youth court for sentencing in front of a new judge.

'I could apologize 100 times over'

On Friday, defence lawyer Michel Fontaine told court his client "never had a girlfriend before and he simply exercised poor judgement."

Fontaine has asked for a conditional discharge. He called it "a relatively minor sexual assault," and said the incident lasted less than three minutes.

"He did not utilize proper judgement," Fontaine said of his client. "It was not premeditated, calculated sexual touching. He was caught up in the moment with his amorous advances and clearly, upon further reflection, he realizes he should not have done what he did."

An apology the boy wrote to his victim was entered as an exhibit at the sentencing hearing.

In it, the boy wrote about the negative impact the case has had on his own life.

"I could apologize 100 times over and it would not be enough to make up for what happened on that day," he wrote. "I have been punished by the law, my parents and morally. The process of this case has truly taken a toll on me. You as well had to suffer."

Crown prosecutor Aleisha Bartier was not impressed by the teen's apology letter.

"It doesn't really indicate any insight into what happened," Bartier said. "It is remorseful, but I don't think it shows an understanding of what sexual assault is."

The Crown is asking Judge Danielle Dalton to put the teen on probation for six to nine months, and order him to attend a course and write a report on what sexual consent means, and to serve 20 hours of community service.

Expelled from school

A letter from Edmonton Public Schools, also entered as an exhibit, said the boy was expelled from the high school where the sexual assault happened just days after the 2015 incident.

Fontaine said the boy had to leave his classes and friends behind to attend a new school, but still managed to achieve honours in Grade 10. He said his client ultimately wants to become a doctor and worries the case could haunt him in the future, unless he receives a conditional discharge.

A victim impact statement was submitted to the court, but was not read aloud. The judge has reserved her decision on whether to allow CBC access to that document. The girl was not present in court for the sentencing hearing.

A sentencing decision is expected Nov. 4.