Law360 Canada ( April 2, 2025, 12:14 PM EDT) -- Appeal by Crown against the respondent’s acquittals on charges of robbery and choke to overcome resistance. The charges arose from an alleged robbery of a female sex trade worker (complainant). The trial background revealed that the respondent was charged with attacking multiple sex trade workers for a relevant period. The trial was scheduled to commence in 2023, with the primary issue being the identification of the attacker. The Crown intended to use the complainant’s testimony to establish a pattern of similar attacks. However, due to the complainant’s inability to travel to the trial, the Crown applied for her to testify remotely, together with the five police officers and the admission of the video statement. But the defence opposed the applications. The trial judge dismissed the Crown’s application for remote testimony and the admission of the video statement based on issues with the timing of the applications and the lack of an adequate evidentiary foundation. The trial judge expressed concerns about the complainant’s credibility and the potential impact of remote testimony on the fairness of the trial. As a result, acquittals were entered on the charges related to the complainant, although the respondent was found guilty of other charges involving different complainants. The Crown contended that the trial judge erred in dismissing its application for the complainant to testify remotely via video conference and in rejecting the application to admit the complainant’s video-recorded police statement. The Crown alleged that the trial judge erred by summarily dismissing its application under s. 714.1 of the Criminal Code for an order permitting the complainant to testify remotely by video conference....