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Warning: this story contains disturbing details.
An Edmonton man accused of sexually assaulting his long-term partner — including involving dogs in sex acts — has been found not guilty of the crimes.
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Court records show Justin Skopyk, 39, was acquitted March 12 of the two counts of sexual assault he faced. He was initially charged with four offences, including compelling bestiality, which the Crown stayed at the start of trial for procedural reasons.
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Skopyk’s lawyer, Shawn Gerstel, said his client is pleased with the acquittal.
“Mr. Skopyk has maintained his innocence throughout the sexual assault proceedings,” Gerstel said. “He is happy with the decision, and looks forward to putting these malicious allegations behind him.”
Skopyk is currently serving a two-year jail sentence for possessing child pornography in a separate case.
During trial last October, Skopyk’s former long-term partner testified he repeatedly forced sex on her. She claimed Skopyk sometimes raped her while she was asleep, and that on other occasions he involved their dogs, including while she was restrained and blindfolded.
Skopyk denied the allegations. While cross examining the woman, Gerstel suggested the incidents with the dogs never happened and that Skopyk always received the woman’s consent before any sex acts.
Gerstel also accused the woman of withholding information about Skopyk’s creation of a profile on adult social networking site. The defence alleged the woman sent some messages related to the site to the Crown, but failed to disclose ones that painted Skopyk in a more favourable light.
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