Advocate says Jake Virtanen acquittal shows high bar for justice in sex assault cases

Vancouver Canucks forward Jake Virtanen’s acquittal on a sexual assault charge Tuesday shows the high bar set for women who come forward with criminal complaints, lawyers and advocates say.A jury of eight men and four women found Virtanen not guilty following a week-long trial that hinged primarily on the different accounts between the athlete and the complainant of a 2017 encounter.“Unfortunately, what this trial and this verdict does is it confirms what so many victims are afraid of when they come forward,” said Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director of Battered Women’s Support Services in Vancouver.

Former Vancouver Canuck Jake Virtanen found not guilty of sexual assault At the same time, MacDougall said, “It’s amazing how many survivors do actually come forward to share their cases and want to give evidence and seek to have the criminal system be a measure of justice.”The woman, who cannot be named due to a publication ban, testified during the trial she verbally and physically resisted Virtanen’s advances in a Vancouver hotel room in 2017.Virtanen, who unexpectedly took the stand Thursday and Friday, told the court the complainant never raised any concerns and was an “enthusiastic participant.”Very little corroborating evidence was presented by either side, leaving the jury only with two differing versions of the night in question.Following closing arguments Monday, the judge instructed the jury that any reasonable doubt in Crown’s case against Virtanen would require an acquittal.Kyla Lee, a Vancouver-based criminal lawyer who was not involved in the case, says that instruction is common in criminal trials and is an especially high bar to clear in sexual assault cases.“You don’t have to believe what somebody.