Yukon appeal court orders new sexual‑assault trial for Dawson man
Published 2:30 pm Friday, March 27, 2026
The Yukon Court of Appeal has overturned the sexual‑assault conviction of Dawson City resident Leslie Iain Weatherston, ruling that errors at his 2024 jury trial rendered the proceedings unfair.
In a decision released March 20, the three‑judge panel quashed the conviction and ordered a new trial after finding Weatherston was denied a fair opportunity to defend himself after the Crown breached a pre‑trial ruling during his cross‑examination.
Justice Patrice Abrioux wrote that the Crown “effectively cornered” Weatherston during cross‑examination by asking about monogamy despite an earlier ruling barring such evidence, leaving him unable to explain his reaction to the complainant’s disclosure that she had been with another man.
The complainant had testified at trial that Weatherston became angry when she told him of the encounter, and that his reaction contributed to her fear on the night of the alleged assault. Weatherston denied being angry, saying he felt sad instead.
Abrioux found that once the Crown breached the order, the trial judge should have revisited the admissibility of evidence about the couple’s relationship or declared a mistrial. Instead, the jury was instructed to ignore the exchange, a remedy the Court of Appeal deemed inadequate.
The court held that the mid‑trial instruction “fell short” of restoring fairness, noting the jury was left without the context needed to assess Weatherston’s credibility on a “central” issue in the Crown’s case.
Weatherston was convicted in September 2024 and later sentenced to 18 months in custody.
The appeal court did not address the merits of the evidence or the remaining grounds of appeal, finding the trial‑management errors alone required a new trial. A date for that retrial has not yet been set.
A publication ban had previously been placed on the proceedings, however, on Jan. 15, 2025, the trial judge granted a consent application to rescind the publication ban.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com