Sask. principal has sexual assault conviction overturned in light of 'butt-grabbing game'

A Saskatchewan principal convicted to six months behind bars for sexual assault has another chance to prove he’s the victim of a middle-school prank that escalated out of control.

A Saskatchewan principal convicted to six months behind bars for sexual assault has another chance to prove he’s the victim of a middle-school prank that escalated out of control.

Geoffrey McFarlan was charged with the sexual assault of a minor in September 2021 and convicted to six months in jail and two years of probation following a trial in January 2023.

Now, McFarlan is getting a new trial after a King’s Bench judge overturned his conviction, ruling the trial judge made a “palpable” error overlooking a significant amount of evidence that cast doubt on the former school principal’s guilt.

The charges stemmed from an incident in a busy hallway during a five-minute break between class at a school that CTV News is not naming to protect the identities of the children involved.

“While getting something out of her locker, the complainant says, ‘I had gotten my butt grabbed,’” Judge Brenda Hildebrandt wrote in her Nov. 12 decision.

The complainant, a 12-year-old girl, was in Grade 7 at the time of the incident.

Hildebrandt says the hallway was busy, with about 40 students passing through on their way to class. She also notes that it was a common prank among the Grade 7s at that time for people to grab each other’s butts.