A B.C. Supreme Court justice found Nathan Constantine McNamara guilty Thursday of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl on a May 2009 camping trip to Chubb Lake, about 100 kilometres south of Prince George.
In giving his reasons for judgment, Justice Frank Cole found that while there were many inconsistencies in they testimony from the victim, who cannot be identified under a court-ordered publication ban, they related to peripheral matters and was generally credible and reliable.
In contrast, he found McNamara fabricated a story "to try to convince police that the complainant was very sexually experienced so they would not lay a charge against him," and rejected the evidence of the accused.
During the trial, held over about four weeks in April, May and September, the court heard the girl was on a camping trip with friends when on May 15, 2009 her group met up with another friend who was camping with McNamara.
The two groups spent most of the evening around a shared campfire and the girl testified she did not notice McNamara, then 24, until he asked her to accompany him to a nearby outhouse. She said McNamara seemed drunk, so she agreed to help him find his way there in the dark.
On their way back, McNamara stole a kiss and then asked if she was a virgin. When she replied "yes," he then asked her if she planned on losing it anytime soon, a statement which "creeped her out."
Later in the evening, the girl began heading back to her own campsite when McNamara grabbed her and pulled her into his tent as she walked by. She struggled in what McNamara characterized as play fighting but eventually relented and agreed to stay and talk.
However, after about 20 minutes, McNamara became physical and forced himself on her, the girl testified. A witness who was near the tent testified he heard the girl say "no, no, no" very faintly, but did not think anything of it at the time.
Friends testified the girl was uncharacteristically quiet on the drive back home the next day. And a doctor who examined her found bruises on her chest and injuries to her vaginal area that were usually consistent with nonconsensual sex.
Cole also found McNamara knew she was younger than the age of consent, and even if he did not, he failed to take reasonable steps to ensure her age. After looking at photos of the girl at the time, Cole said he's satisfied she looked 14 or 15 years old, not 17 as McNamara claimed.
In addition to sexual assault and sexual interference of a person under 16, Cole also found McNamara guilty of unlawful confinement and threatening the girl.
McNamara will be sentenced following completion of a presentence report, likely in March.
