Nova Scotia man convicted of sexually assaulting woman while she was asleep
HALIFAX — A Halifax-area man has been convicted of sexually assaulting a sleeping woman, in a case likely to add to the growing discourse over sexual consent.
Robert Shawn Burton of Lower Sackville, N.S., told Nova Scotia Supreme Court that he and the woman were engaged in consensual foreplay, and when sexual intercourse began, he stopped when she asked what he was doing.
The complainant testified there was no consent to any sex acts, telling the court she was asleep when the intercourse started early on Feb. 3, 2014.
Justice Joshua Arnold, in a written decision released Monday, said Burton’s version of events was not credible, largely based on a series of text messages Burton sent to the victim after the crime.