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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.