The Charlottetown
Guardian reports that the Crown has appealed the acquittal of a Canadian Forces reserve officer to the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada.
The charges against [Capt. Todd] Bannister stemmed from incidents that allegedly occurred between November 2012 and June 2015 in Montréal and Charlottetown while he was serving as the Commanding Officer of 148 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps.
In one incident, Bannister was alleged to have propositioned a former cadet to engage in sexual intercourse. He was also accused of making the same request to her on a separate occasion.
On Feb. 27, the military judge found Bannister not guilty on two counts of behaving in a disgraceful manner and not guilty on two counts of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline.
No explanation for the acquittal is provided on the
website of the Office of the Chief Military Judge. Judging by
this account, however, it appears that the military judge had ruled that the cadets harassment and abuse prevention policy at issue was not a binding order. "While the judge said the alleged behaviour was not condoned, he ruled the prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence from a criminal standard that Bannister had behaved in a disgraceful manner."
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