Prosecution is appealing a military court judge’s decision that cleared army reserve captain Todd Bannister of charges stemming from incidents where he allegedly asked a female cadet for sex.
Col. Bruce MacGregor, director of military prosecutions, announced Friday that the prosecution has filed a notice of appeal arguing the military judge’s decision erred in law.
Written arguments will be filed with the Court Martial Appeal Court, a civilian body comprised of a panel of three judges drawn from the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court and provincial superior courts. The date for an appeal hearing has not yet been set by the court.
“All Canadians, including members of the Canadian Armed Forces deserve the correct and consistent application of the Code of Service of Discipline at courts martial,’’ says MacGregor.
“Not every unfavourable ruling should be appealed and therefore a decision to appeal should not be taken lightly and requires careful consideration. After reviewing the matter, I believe that the test of a substantial likelihood of success has been met in this case and that it would be in the public interest to appeal the military judge’s decision.”
The charges against Bannister stemmed from incidents that allegedly occurred between November 2012 and June 2015 in Montréal and Charlottetown while he was serving as the Commanding Officer of 148 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps.
In one incident, Bannister was alleged to have propositioned a former cadet to engage in sexual intercourse. He was also accused of making the same request to her on a separate occasion.
On Feb. 27, the military judge found Bannister not guilty on two counts of behaving in a disgraceful manner and not guilty on two counts of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline.
