Law360 Canada ( November 7, 2025, 12:00 PM EST) -- Appeal by Rioux from a judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal which set aside a judgment acquitting him of sexual assault and ordered a new trial. Rioux and the complainant met for a picnic at a park. Per Rioux, the first series of sexual acts took place there. They then went to his home where the second series of sexual acts took place. The complainant testified that, after consuming an alcoholic drink prepared by Rioux at the park, she had no full or clear recall, or sequential memories of the night’s events, other than brief flashes of memory. She believed she had been drugged. Rioux was charged with one count of sexual assault. At trial, the judge divided the single charge into two separate time frames: first, the sexual activity in the park and second, the sexual activity in Rioux’s home. Regarding the sexual activity in the park, the judge accepted Rioux’s version regarding the complainant’s consent which was not contradicted by the complainant as she had no recollection of the incident. As for the sexual activity in Rioux’s home, the judge found that his version of events raised a doubt concerning his honest but mistaken belief in the complainant’s consent. Rioux was acquitted. The majority of the Court of Appeal found that the trial judge made errors of law by failing to consider circumstantial evidence and by improperly using Rioux’s testimony as direct evidence of the complainant’s subjective consent. Those errors were sufficient to overturn the acquittal and order a new trial....