Ontario court upholds sex assault sentence for man who removed condom
M.F. reported the encounter to police, saying, according to the court documents, that it was the worst day/ of her life.
Article content
'She considered self-harm and suicide. She called the suicide prevention line and said that the person who answered her call was her 'saving grace' and got her through the night,' Gillese wrote.
Article content
Following a two-day trial, the respondent was convicted.
Article content
The trial judge found that M.F. had not heard Ranatunga say he was removing the condom and that there was no ambient noise in the bedroom that would have impaired her hearing. The trial judge also rejected Ranatunga's argument that he had an 'honest but mistaken' belief that M.F. had consented to unprotected sex.
Article content
At the sentencing hearing, the Crown sought a three-year penitentiary sentence, and the defence submitted that a conditional sentence of 18 months to two years less a day was appropriate or a sentence of imprisonment between 12 and 18 months to be served in a reformatory.
Article content
Article content
In the end, the trail judge sentenced the respondent to a conditional sentence of two years less a day, finding that he was a first-time offender with good rehabilitative prospects.
Article content
The trial judge found that removing a condom without consent is a 'form of violence' and an 'extremely serious violation,' but found that removing a condom is 'qualitatively different in nature than a sexual assault which involves physically holding a person down against their will and penetrating them or penetrating them when they are in a state where they could not resist; for example, sleeping or intoxicated'.
Article content
The Crown appealed the case, arguing that the sentence was unfit and that the judge did not appropriately consider the violent nature of the offence.
Article content
Gillese objected strongly to the trial judge's reasoning. 'There is no principled basis to distinguish penetration following non-consensual condom removal from other forms of penetrative sexual assault nor is there any principled basis for creating a much lower sentencing range for non-consensual condom removal sexual assault than that for other forms of penetrative sexual assault,' she wrote.
Article content
Article content
She argued that forced penetrative sexual assault typically calls for three to five years behind bars.
Article content
However, the other two justices disagreed, saying the trial judge had intended to contrast sexual assault cases with overt force or incapacitation and that the trial judge was owed deference in her decision within the changing legal landscape of these sorts of sexual assault cases.
Article content
The decision builds on the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in R. v. Kirkpatrick, which clarified how condom use factors into sexual consent under Canadian law. In that case, the court found that a person can place conditions on their consent, and if those conditions aren't met, the sexual activity becomes non-consensual.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Sun
9 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Canada, NATO allies warn of 'growing number' of state threats from Iran
Published Jul 31, 2025 • 1 minute read A woman walks past a residential building that was hit in an Israeli strike covered with a big Iranian flag, in Tehran on June 25, 2025. Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images OTTAWA — Canada and many of its NATO allies released a joint statement Thursday condemning a 'growing number' of state threats from Iranian intelligence services. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The joint statement said the countries are united in their opposition to attempts to 'kill, kidnap and harass' people in North America and Europe. The statement was also signed by the governments of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. It said Iranian intelligence services are increasingly collaborating with international criminal organizations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens and current and former government officials. The statement did not cite any specific incidents but said the attacks violate the countries' sovereignty and calls on Iranian authorities to 'immediately' put an end to illegal activities. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Canadian Press has reached out to Global Affairs Canada for comment but has not yet received a response. In 2022, Ottawa declared Iran's leaders — including senior government and security agency officials — inadmissible to Canada due to involvement in terrorism and human rights violations. The Canada Border Services Agency said last month that three people were found ineligible to remain in Canada in recent years because they were senior officials of the Iranian regime. Deportation orders were issued for all three and one has been removed from Canada. Hostilities in the Middle East have drawn more attention to the possible activities of Iranian regime representatives in Canada. The border agency has said it works very closely with domestic and international partners by sharing relevant information on border and national security issues. Canada has not had a diplomatic presence in Iran since 2012. — With files from Jim Bronskill, David Baxter and Dylan Robertson Canada World Canada Columnists Toronto & GTA
Ottawa Citizen
11 hours ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Canadian military won't restrict new handgun in aftermath of U.S. fatality
The company noted it has offered assistance in the ongoing investigation into the death of the U.S. air force member. Canada's special forces was the first to receive the P320. That was followed by a contract in 2022 of the more of the guns for the Canadian Army, navy, air force and military police. The introduction into service of the P320 was temporarily delayed after a member of Joint Task Force 2 accidentally shot himself with his handgun during training in Ottawa in the fall of 2020. The incident, which resulted in a flesh wound, prompted a temporary halt to Canadian special forces training with the P320. At the same time, Sig Sauer issued a statement noting it was 'working with Canadian Special Operations Forces Command to resolve an incident involving the unintended discharge of a P320.' The gun in question had been extensively tested and found to be safe, the firm noted. 'The investigation revealed the use of an incorrect holster not designed for a P320,' Sig Sauer added in its statement. In a statement issued June 22, 2022, the Canadian special forces command noted that an investigation into the November 2020 incident 'concluded the weapon is technically sound and functioned according to the technical requirements.' The Sig Sauer P320 is in use by multiple militaries around the world including Denmark, France and the United States. The U.S. Global Strike Command is currently inspecting all its Sig Sauer pistols. But the rest of the U.S. Air Force, as well as the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps have no plans to temporarily stop the use of the pistols by its personnel. The Marine Corps issued a statement that the gun was rigorously tested before being chosen. 'We have not seen any evidence that indicates design or manufacturing issues are present,' the Marine Corps said in an emailed statement to the Associated Press. More than 100,000 of the pistols have been delivered to the U.S. military. David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here:
Vancouver Sun
12 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Killer who raped, decapitated 12-year-old girl has been paroled: police
According to Halifax Regional Police, 73-year-old high-risk offender Douglas Worth is living in Dartmouth. Worth, originally from the Pictou County area of Nova Scotia, was released after serving 35 years of a federal life sentence for the December 1987 second-degree murder of Trina Campbell in Brampton, Ont. National Post has contacted the Parole Board of Canada to obtain a copy of their decision to release Worth, who police say can have no contact with children or his victims, no drugs or alcohol, and must report all relationships. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Worth has a criminal history dating back to 1968 that includes break-ins, motor vehicle theft and the 1978 rape of an Indigenous girl in Ontario, for which he was sentenced and served eight years, earning his release in June of 1987, about seven months before he killed Campbell. The circumstances surrounding that murder are detailed in multiple news articles from the time and are also explored in a 2005 episode of the television series Crime Stories. In the show, it notes that shortly before his release, Worth had said he planned to kill people and go on a rampage as retribution for his incarceration. Despite those concerns, he had served his limited sentence, and nothing in Canadian law at the time established safeguards around release. After Worth got out in the spring, however, police tracked him to Edmonton, where he reconnected with a woman named Mary Kelly and her teenage son from a different relationship, Shawn. Police said they lost track of Worth soon after, but believed he returned to Ontario. Police said Campbell, a Metis girl who'd had a troubled life, was living in a group home in the fall of 1987 after having run away from foster parents on several occasions. When she failed to return to the facility on Dec. 11, they thought at first she might have run away again. A months-long investigation into her disappearance ensued, but police didn't have any credible leads by the time February rolled around. Despite no evidence of foul play, the file was handed off to homicide detectives Edward Toye and Len Favreau. Meanwhile, Peel police were completely unaware that Worth was living in a downtown boarding house close to where Campbell was last seen by her school bus driver. 'We had no idea this sadistic predator had moved into our area,' Inspector Rod Piukkala said on Crime Stories. Authorities later learned Worth was soon rejoined by the Kellys, and in March of 1988, he asked Mary to rent a vehicle and accompany him so that he could move evidence related to an undisclosed crime. 'He left the car with a hockey bag and went into this ravine area. He then was seen by Mary to come from there carrying this hockey bag that was now laden with something,' assistant Crown prosecutor Al O'Marra said on the show. The two drove about an hour north of Brampton, where Mary said Worth took the bag into the woods and came back with it empty. Back in Brampton, he then ordered 14-year-old Shawn to clean up a stain left in the car's trunk. After the Kellys moved with Worth to his home province in April, Shawn asked his school's guidance counsellor and Stellarton Police for help escaping the violence he was experiencing at home, according to a 2005 article in The Evening News in New Glasgow. During that chat, Sgt. Hugh Muir, knowing Worth was wanted in connection with crimes in Ontario, asked Shawn about Brampton specifically, prompting the teenager to recount the stain story and that he had heard Worth tell other family members that he had killed a man there, not a girl. 'We were both stunned,' Muir said of himself and the guidance counsellor. 'We had no inkling whatsoever that this was coming.' Armed with new information, Toye and Favreau located the rental car with the dark stain. Testing quickly revealed it to be not only human blood, but decomposed human blood. They also discovered the rare blood type is common among Indigenous persons, leading police to think there could be a 'loose chance' of a Campbell connection. The Peel detectives travelled to N.S. to begin surveilling Worth, but had little evidence to act on. Before long, Sharon and Wade Lewis, Worth's sister and brother-in-law, agreed to interviews, during which they spoke about the murder admission overheard by Shawn and Worth's growing paranoia that someone would find the body and connect it to him. 'They advised us that Doug had approached them requesting assistance to get back to Brampton so that he could retrieve the head of the victim,' Favreau said on Crime Stories. 'Doug told them that if you can get the head of the victim, it would prevent anyone from being able to identify the victim.' Armed with that knowledge, police devised a plan whereby they would provide money and a rented car to Sharon that she would give to Worth and urge him to hit the road and deal with his problem. Worth took the bait, and police discreetly tailed him back to Brampton, where he and Mary arrived on the night of May 7 under constant surveillance. Worth gave police the slip overnight, but officers fanned out and eventually located the pair exiting the woods. 'I'll never forget that sight and that immense wave of relief that washed over me when we saw the car parked there and saw Doug coming out of the bush carrying a gym bag. He didn't seem to pay us any mind,' Peel Det. Mike Cederberg told producers for Crime Stories. To eliminate any chance of an alibi that he had found the remains and was returning them to police, officers allowed Worth to drive past two police stations before stopping him in Brampton. In the gym bag, forensics officers found a decomposing skull wrapped in garbage bags, which they soon confirmed was that of the missing girl. The rest of her body was recovered from the area north of the city later that day. 'He broke her leg, fractured her skull, her body was butchered, he snapped off her forearms and dumped her body,' O'Marra told the court during Worth's 1990 trial, according to the Windsor Star. When first apprehended, Worth told police he'd grabbed Campbell in a supermarket, and raped and beat her before leaving her to die in a ravine. During the trial, however, he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Defence lawyer Damien Frost asked the jury to accept an insanity plea, arguing Worth was hallucinating and believed Campbell was a female prison guard from his previous time in prison. It took jurors under an hour to reject that argument and present their guilty verdict to Justice Coulter Osbourne, who handed Worth a life sentence with no chance of parole for 23 years. Worth unleashed a confusing and contradictory rant after his sentencing, per the Star. 'I did not kill her,' he said before adding, 'I'm not saying I'm not to blame for the cause of her death.' He went on to add that people who commit crimes like this against children 'should be shot.' 'That goes for me, too,' he said. He also told O'Marra that he is 'not the cold-hearted son of a b—-' he was made out to be during the trial. 'They say I'm mentally ill, but I don't want to go on living like this if there's no hope. . . I'll put a bullet through my head.' Halifax police said its advisory this week is meant to inform the public of Worth's presence and is 'not intended to encourage any form of vigilante activity or other unreasonable conduct.' High-Risk Offender Notification: Douglas Worth Halifax Regional Police is advising citizens, particularly those in Dartmouth, that a high-risk offender is residing in the community. Douglas Worth, 73, is a federal offender who has been serving a life sentence for second-degree… Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
