Retired corporal says she's lost faith in the justice system after sex assault charge stayed

Warning: This story contains sexually graphic details that may be disturbing to readers.

A retired Canadian Armed Forces corporal says she's lost faith in the justice system's ability to prosecute military sexual assault cases after a judge stayed the charge in her case because it took too long to get to trial.

And one expert says more military sexual misconduct cases transferred to civilian authorities could fall apart if the federal government doesn't swiftly change the law.

Arianna Nolet's case is one of the first military sexual assault cases transferred to a civilian court to reach a conclusion since late 2021. Almost 90 such cases have been accepted by civilian police for investigation over the past two years.

"To see how this case was handled and mishandled, mismanaged to the point that I didn't even get a day in court, is beyond disappointing," Nolet told CBC News.

"I have completely lost all inherent trust in the judicial system in Canada."

Nolet is now calling for a legislative fix to ensure sexual offence charges against military members aren't stayed due to delays. 

"In my experience now with the civilian judicial system, my fear is that these cases are not going to be prosecuted, just as much as they weren't being prosecuted properly in the military," she said.

The office of Defence Minister Bill Blair said Canadian Armed Forces authorities stopped laying charges and adjudicating all new sexual offence cases as of late 2021.

The move came after the government accepted an interim recommendation from retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour to transfer all cases of sexual offences alleged to have been perpetrated by military members — including historical cases — to civilian authorities.

The government tasked Arbour with reviewing the Canadian military's culture in response to a sexual misconduct crisis that saw an unprecedented number of senior military leaders sidelined from prestigious posts.

In her final report, Arbour said the military was granted concurrent jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute sexual offences for the first time in 1998 to improve efficiency, discipline and morale. But Arbour called the Canadian military's handling of these cases over the past 20 years a systemic failure that has "eroded trust and morale." 

Arbour recommended last year the government permanently strip the military of its power to handle sexual offences. The federal government has not yet changed the law to give civilian police and courts exclusive jurisdiction over such cases.

The military referred 128 of its 252 active sexual offence cases to civilian police between December 2021 and the end of August this year, according to the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal's office. Police agreed to investigate 87 of those cases and declined 41.