Kingston military member found guilty of 2 counts of sexual assault in court martial

Warning: This story contains details that may disturb readers. Discretion is advised. 

A court-martial trial at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Kingston ended with a guilty verdict for a Canadian Armed Forces member Thursday.

Ordinary Seaman Josh Daniel Stewart was convicted of two counts of sexual assault.

Military judge C.J. Deschênes said she did not find Stewart’s testimony credible throughout the trial — that it often contradicted itself or other testimonies from witnesses.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Stewart’s trial began last week, and included testimony from the victim, who said Stewart forced himself upon her on two occasions.

The two assaults occurred on the same night nearly three years ago at a party Stewart threw in his home near CFB Kingston.

The first assault took place in Stewart’s kitchen, where he inappropriately grabbed the woman and forcibly kissed her.

The second assault took place in his bedroom, where Stewart shoved the victim’s face into his mattress, and proceeded to have sex with her without her consent.

0:40 Military ombudsman says political leaders have ‘turned a blind eye’ to recommendations of his office

• Military ombudsman says political leaders have ‘turned a blind eye’ to recommendations of his office
• Royal Military College failed to respond to sexual misconduct: former training head
• Breaking down allegations of misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces after military head of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout steps aside
• Few military police investigators are women
• Head of Canadian military intelligence school removed amid misconduct investigation
• Trudeau acknowledges years of ‘inadequate’ measures on sexual misconduct in military

Previous Video

Next Video

The Canadian military has been under fire recently to address sexual misconduct within its ranks, in part due to Global News reporting on the subject.

In Kingston alone, there are three more sexual assault court-martial trials scheduled to take place over the next seven months.