Law360 Canada ( December 11, 2020, 6:55 AM EST) -- Appeal by the accused, Sauverwald, from convictions for sexual assault and strangling with intent. The complainant testified of the details of an attack by an unknown assailant. The accused testified that he was alone with the complainant on the night of the attack but denied that he was the perpetrator. The theory of the defence was that an earlier visitor returned to the complainant’s residence and perpetrated the attack. The trial judge rejected the theory of the defence and found that the accused was the perpetrator. The accused submitted that the verdict was unreasonable given errors in assessing the reliability of the complainant’s evidence. The accused further submitted that the trial judge erred in declining to declare a mistrial. The request for a mistrial arose after defence counsel was replaced post-conviction and alleged ineffective assistance of prior trial counsel causing a miscarriage of justice. The trial judge rejected the allegation of ineffective assistance and denied a mistrial. The trial judge found that trial counsel’s work did not have a prejudicial impact on the outcome. The accused appealed....