Defence lawyer tells sex assault retrial complainant had ‘buyer’s remorse’
CALGARY — A lawyer for a man facing a sex assault retrial after the original judge asked the complainant why she didn’t keep her knees closed says the alleged victim had a case of “buyer’s remorse.”
Alexander Wagar, 29, was acquitted in 2014 by Judge Robin Camp, who ruled Wagar was a more credible witness than the 19-year-old complainant.
Camp called her “the accused” throughout that trial and asked her, “Why couldn’t you just keep your knees together?” He also told her “pain and sex sometimes go together.”
The Alberta Court of Appeal overturned the conviction and ordered the new trial. Camp is now a Federal Court judge. A panel of the Canadian Judicial Council is deciding whether to recommend his removal from the bench.