Warning: This article contains graphic content. Discretion is advised.
Matthew Albert Percy gritted his teeth and shook his head as he found out he had been found guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm on Friday.
It’s the former Saint Mary’s University groundskeeper’s second sexual assault conviction.
On Friday, Justice Joshua Arnold chose to not read his entire decision and instead delivered a brief statement, saying that he was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Percy had sexually assaulted a then-19-year-old woman at a Dalhousie University residence on Dec. 6, 2014.
Charges only filed after complaint reexamined
Halifax Regional Police had originally closed the file without charges a month after their investigation began.
However, in the wake of Percy being charged with sexually assaulting two other women, police re-opened their investigation and eventually laid charges.
Percy had pleaded not guilty to the charge of sexual assault causing bodily harm and the trial was heard by a judge alone in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
The complainant’s identity is protected by a publication ban.
During the trial, the complainant testified to meeting Percy after partying at Cheers, a bar that existed at the time in The Dome, a multi-level nightclub in downtown Halifax.
She said Percy invited her to get poutine at a nearby takeout restaurant, only for them to stop at the nearby Toothy Moose bar for a drink before getting the food.
The complainant testified that she did not remember the trip but that the pair eventually ended up at her Dalhousie residence on LeMarchant Street.
She alleged that once inside Percy assaulted her multiple times, in both her bedroom and the nearby washroom, leaving her with bite marks on her neck and painful bruises on her rear that left her unable to sit down for days.
In his 80-page decision, Justice Arnold ruled that Crown attorney Richard Woodburn did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was a lack of consent during the sexual encounter in the bedroom as a result of the complainants’ “hazy memory” of the events.
However, he did find that the complainant’s account of what occurred in the washroom was accurate.
Judge rules complainant did not consent to anal sex
The complainant had testified during the trial that she “clearly told Percy no” as he violently initiated anal sex in the washroom.
Arnold rejected Percy’s portrayal of the incident, where he said the complainant was initially resistant to having anal sex before she ultimately said yes.
“I note that (the complainant) testified not only that she did not consent to anal intercourse, but that she would have never consented to it,” the judge wrote.
He also said that unlike other points of the night, the complainant’s memory was “clear in respect of the anal penetration.”
Arnold ruled that many of the inconsistencies in the complainant’s testimony about the injuries she suffered, as well as regarding the incident in the bathroom, were inconsequential to his findings.
The judge also ruled that the Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the complainant did not consent to the vaginal sex that occurred in the shower after the anal intercourse.
She had testified during the trial that she was traumatized after the forced anal intercourse and did not consent to any of the activities that followed.
Arnold ruled that Percy knew that the complainant “did not consent to anal intercourse, or to anything that followed.”
As part of his decision, the justice also ruled that the injuries the complainant received as a result of the assault constitute bodily harm.
The injuries included an inability to sit properly or have a bowel movement for two days as well as bite marks and bruises.
“I am convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that (the complainant) did not have the injuries described in court prior to meeting Mr. Percy,” Arnold wrote.
Crown attorney Richard Woodburn requested a sexual offender assessment ahead of Percy’s sentencing while defence counsel Peter Planetta requested a pre-sentencing report.
Both were granted by Arnold.
Percy’s case before the Nova Scotia Supreme Court is his third sexual assault trial. The first two incidents occurred in September 2017 and involved Saint Mary’s University students.
The former groundskeeper was found guilty of sexual assault and voyeurism in one trial but was acquitted on charges of sexual assault, choking to overcome resistance and voyeurism in the other.
Percy has already served a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence. He has been denied bail while awaiting trial on this charge and another case scheduled for trial this year.
Sentencing for Percy on this charge is set for Nov. 27 at 9:30 a.m.
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