An inquiry committee of the Canadian Judicial Council has recommended federal Justice Robin Camp lose his job for asking a sexual assault complainant in a 2014 trial why she couldn't keep her knees closed.
The accused, Alexander Wagar, was acquitted by Camp, who was a provincial court judge at the time, but that decision was overturned. Here is a look at some of the information the court heard at Wagar's retrial in November:
- Wagar and the complainant, who can't be named under a publication ban, were at a house party in Calgary on Dec. 14, 2011. The woman, who is now 24, told court she had been living in homeless shelters and had alcohol and drug addictions.
- She said Wagar had been "flirty" and was making it clear he wanted to have sex with her. "He was telling me I was skinny and pretty and had a nice body," she testified.
- Later, when she was in the bathroom, Wagar came in, locked the door and ripped her clothes off, she said. "He was starting to hurt me. I told him to stop," she testified. "I was scared. I was very drunk."
- The sexual assault lasted 15 to 20 minutes, she said.
- Wagar testified that the sex was consensual. He said the two had been smoking pot in the bathroom before it happened and he decided to "go for it."
- "She didn't shy away from me in any shape or form," he said. "She said she liked me."
- Wagar testified that he would have stopped if the woman said no, but he acknowledged under cross-examination that the complainant "never said 'yes' directly."
- Judge Jerry LeGrandeur said he will deliver a verdict Jan. 31.
In Ottawa, Justice Minister and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould took reporter questions about the recommendation, and acknowledged the hard work of the inquiry committee involved in the case. She would not however, reveal whether she personally would like to see the justice removed from court forever.
"I'm looking forward to seeing the recommendation of the Committee of the Whole of the Canadian Judicial Council and before I receive that recommendation, I'm not going to make any further comment," she said. "Our government is ensuring that we support victims of sexual assault and provide them with the respect and dignity that they reserve, deserve."
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