Minto man acquitted of sex-assault charges
Judge says after hearing conflicting testimony from defendant William Oscar Smith, 34, and female complainant, he didn’t know who to believe, leaving him with reasonable doubt
A Minto man accused of sexually assaulting a woman twice between 2017 and 2022 walked out of court a free man Tuesday after the judge found the Crown hadn’t proven its case.
William Oscar Smith, 34, of Upton Street, stood trial earlier this year before Fredericton provincial court Judge Scott Brittain on two counts of sexual assault.
One indictable charge alleged events between Jan. 1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2022; and the other, a less serious summary charge, alleged an offence Nov. 20, 2022.
Both involved the same woman as the complainant, and there’s a court-ordered publication in place protecting her identity.