A Saskatchewan man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman following a trial in which the question of consent by the victim was argued extensively by the Crown and defence.
Gioulian Nikdima, 50, was convicted Thursday in Regina Court of Queen’s Bench of sexual assault causing bodily harm.
Mr. Nikdima’s trial by judge alone heard that he met the woman through the Plenty of Fish dating website.
The court was told the accused assaulted her after the two left a Regina restaurant to go for a walk in a rural area on the city’s outskirts in March, 2016.
Mr. Nikdima, who is not a Canadian citizen, is not being held in custody but must surrender his passport.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 2.
During the trial’s closing arguments in June, the defence said the victim did not explicitly say she did not want to engage sexually with Mr. Nikdima.
Justice Fred Kovach was told the woman initiated intercourse through explicit language that made the act consensual.
The defence also cited Mr. Nikdima’s struggles with English as a second language as the reason for his inconsistent statements during two police interviews.
The Crown countered that the woman never said yes and that she felt she could not get away from Mr. Nikdima, fearing further harm would come to her if she tried to stop him.
The prosecution asked Thursday for Mr. Nikdima’s bail conditions to be reviewed.
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