REGINA – “I find Romeo Morales not guilty of sexual assault.”
Justice David Gerecke spoke those words in Regina King’s Bench Court on Friday, as Morales cried tears of joy.
The sexual assault charge stems from an incident on Dec. 22, 2020 when Morales was styling hair in his home. Three people - including the complainant - received haircuts that day, and at issue was the amount of time that person spent alone with Morales. While some marked that time as 10 minutes, others testified that the pair were alone for 15 to 30 minutes.
“He was on his phone for much of the time at the accused’s home, and some of his evidence on timeframes appear to be more on the nature of guesses than arising from alert observations,” said Justice Gerecke of one witness while reading his decision on April 21. Aside from the issue of marking passage of time, he found the rest of their testimony credible.
“The sole issue at trial was whether the Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused committed the acts alleged by the complainant,” said Justice Gerecke. “That issue falls to be determined largely on the basis of the credibility and reliability of the complainants testimony, along with that of the accused.”
He added that “if the evidence of the complainant is believed, the accused committed a sexual assault.”
The complainant - in the company of his step-father - gave a statement to police hours after the alleged assault occurred; a video which was presented during the trial as part of a blended voir dire.
Justice Gerecke noted several inconsistencies in testimony given during the trial, and admitted exaggerations by the complainant - an example being telling police that the accused “touched him at least 20 times in a sexual manner.”
“What matters most is if the sexual assault happened at all,” said Justice Gerecke, noting that after carefully assessing all the evidence, he found the Crown could not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, therefore Morales was acquitted.
“It’s in God’s will,” Morales told outside the court. “Everything has a reason for why these things, for the other side and my side. God is always in control.”
— for more from Crime, Cops and Court.
