Nova Scotia court rejects appeal of man convicted of sexually assaulting wife
HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s highest court has dismissed an appeal by a man convicted of sexually assaulting his common-law wife, in an unusual case that garnered national attention when the victim asked the court to lift a publication ban on her name so she could speak out about her ordeal.
The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, in a decision released Monday, rejected Jared Peter Beck-Wentzell’s claim that the original trial judge misunderstood evidence and failed to consider a key defence argument.
During his trial, Beck-Wentzell’s lawyer argued his client should be declared not guilty because the young man had an honest but mistaken belief that his wife had consented to sex in their home in Bridgewater, N.S.
Shannon Graham testified she awoke when Beck-Wentzell entered their bedroom late on July 12, 2014, and she told him she was not interested when he started to remove her pyjamas and indicated that he wanted to have sex.