The Crown stayed charges Wednesday against a Barriere man accused of attempting to have sex with a 14-year-old girl.
Prosecutor Abel Fok stayed the count of sexual interference against a minor following a half-day of testimony. Charges are typically stayed when the Crown determines it does not have enough evidence to proceed with the trial.
The girl was 14 years old at the time. Her name is protected by a publication ban. KTW is not publishing the accused’s name in order to protect the identity of the girl.
The man charged, who is 24 years old, met the girl one evening, she testified in provincial court earlier Wednesday. A friend of the man charged picked her up and the group went to a friend’s house to drink.
Under federal law, the age of consent is 16. There is an exception for those close in age.
The teenaged girl said age was never discussed between the two before they engaged in consensual touching following a drive to a rural area. They did not have sex because the man could not get aroused due to drinking too much.
The next day, however, he sent her a sexually-related message on Facebook. The two later met, but there was no sexual talk or contact, she said.
The interaction came to light several months later when the messages were found on a laptop computer several months later and RCMP was contacted.
Defence lawyer Sheldon Tate asked the girl during cross-examination how she liked to portray herself using makeup and clothes. He asked her if people comment that she looks older than her actual age.
“I get that quite often,” she said.
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