Former Sudbury, Ont., police officer found guilty of 2007 sexual assault

Wayne Foster, a former police officer with the Greater Sudbury Police Service, has been found guilty of sexual assault in connection with an incident Aug. 24, 2007.

Wayne Foster, a former police officer with the Greater Sudbury Police Service, has been found guilty of sexual assault in connection with an incident Aug. 24, 2007.

The victim was 17 at the time and the assault took place on an elevator, according to the Ontario Court of Justice decision released Dec. 23.

"The evidence permits no reasonable inference that the alleged touching was consensual or that Mr. Foster held a mistaken belief that it was," the ruling said.

"There is likewise no inference available that the touching described was not sexual in nature. The case thus revolves entirely around issues of credibility and reliability."

"Ultimately my task is to consider whether the evidence as a whole leaves me with any reasonable doubt about the guilt of the accused," Justice Graham Jenner wrote in his decision.

The victim testified that she and Foster were alone on the elevator when he pushed her to one side of the compartment. He then slid his hands down her pants, forcibly kissed her and slid his other hand under her blouse and grabbed her breast.

Shocked, the victim said she froze at that point. A short time later, the doors opened and Foster exited the elevator.