A man who was acquitted by a Quebec trial court of sexually assaulting a woman he previously dated must have his case retried, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed Friday in a 5-4 decision, concluding that the trial court had erred in its analysis by not considering all available evidence.

Frédéric Rioux was charged with sexual assault in 2020, roughly a year after he met the complainant, a woman he had previously dated, for a picnic. The complainant had ended the relationship, but the two remained friends.

According to the complainant in R. v. Rioux , after drinking a mixed-gin drink prepared by Rioux, she entered a state of “blackout” and only had brief flashes of memory of what occurred afterwards. She had previously only had a single glass of wine, and later believed that the secon

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