Canada's top court overturns acquittals for man accused of selling his spouse for sex

WARNING: This story contains details of abuse and intimate partner violence: 

A man acquitted of forcing his wife to have sex with strangers for money in Alberta and Nova Scotia will face a new trial following a decision from Canada's top court.

The man had been found not guilty on sex trafficking charges in a ruling affirmed by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. In a 7-2 decision last week, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned the acquittals and ordered a new trial. 

The accused — identified only as T.J.F. —  had been charged with trafficking his common-law spouse and receiving a material benefit from it. His partner, J.D., alleged that she was forced to provide sexual services for money under threat of violence. 

The Supreme Court ruled that a trial judge in Nova Scotia failed to consider the accused's history of violence against his partner, which in turn cast doubt on the woman's credibility in court.

The woman alleged that her partner abused her daily for years. She testified that she was sold online by her partner, who kept the money she was paid for her sexual services.

At trial, the woman's brother, mother, daughter and two friends all testified about the abuse the woman had suffered at the hands of her partner.  

The Supreme Court ruled that the trial judge failed to adequately consider evidence that the complainant was a victim of abuse — violence that could have forced her to submit to her partner's demands.

"This error of law hindered his assessment of the evidence," the judges wrote in their decision, dated Nov. 15.

The Supreme Court judges found that the trial judge made a legal error by ruling that the accused's history of violence was "past discreditable conduct" but had no material bearing on the case.

"Even though the trial judge admitted the evidence, this mischaracterization meant he did not assess it properly," the justices wrote. "It could have formed the basis of a finding that the accused controlled, directed, or influenced the movements of the complainant."

While the trial judge, Justice Kevin Coady with Nova Scotia's Supreme Court, accepted that the complainant "found herself trapped in a violent, unhappy, and loveless relationship" with a man who subjected her to "threats, intimidation, and injury," he found her testimony lacked credibility.

In his decision, dated Nov. 5, 2021, Coady found the woman was prone to exaggeration and ruled there was "not enough" evidence to prove the accused's guilt.

Coady also had doubts about the accused's ties to any "prostitution enterprise."