Former Queen’s student Taylor Haas found not guilty of sexual assault

A former Queen’s University student accused of sexual assault in Kingston, Ont., was acquitted of the charge Tuesday morning.

The verdict was delivered quickly over teleconference, where Judge Alison Wheeler found Taylor Haas not guilty of a sexual assault charge.

Haas’s father is the owner of Thomas Haas Chocolate in British Columbia. Haas previously attended Queen’s University but now resides in B.C.

Haas pleaded not guilty to the alleged assault that was said to have occurred on Feb. 21, 2018, while he was attending Queen’s University.

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Wheeler said that although she believed the woman who accused Haas of sexually assaulting her had no recollection of having sexual intercourse with him, she also believed Haas’s claim that there was a conversation between the two before intercourse.

1:22 Son of B.C. chocolatier Thomas Haas accused of sexual assault

Haas’s counsel had previously argued that the sexual intercourse between Haas and the woman had taken place later in the morning, but Wheeler took issue with that argument.

Despite having some problems with the evidence presented by Haas’s team, Wheeler ultimately felt the Crown did not prove that the woman, although intoxicated, lacked the capacity for consent, nor did they prove the intercourse between Haas and the woman was not consensual. Wheeler, therefore, found Haas not guilty on the charge of sexual assault.