Rusagonis man acquitted of sex-crime charges
While 22-year-old Evan Sandwith’s association with minors “is troubling to say the least,” judge finds “too many inconsistencies” in teenage complainant’s testimony to ignore
A Rusagonis man has been found not guilty of committing sex crimes against a minor - for the third time.
Court of King’s Bench Justice Thomas Christie rendered his decision Monday on the recent trial of Evan Sandwith, 22, of Noble Court.
He stood trial before Christie, without a jury, at the Burton Courthouse earlier this year on 11 indictable charges, alleging sex-related crimes against a teenage girl in Oromocto in the summer and fall of 2021.
Among them were counts of sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, sexual touching of a minor and invitation to sexual touching.
The girl testified at trial she was 14 years old at the time and Sandwith was 19, and that she first met the defendant through social-media apps.
They eventually met in person, she said, and that led to four separate incidents during which he forced himself on her sexually.