A child has been acquitted of assaulting his younger stepsister after what a Quebec judge deemed to be a harmless bit of teasing.
The boy, who was 12 years old at the time, admitted to having touched his sister’s thighs while the two were watching a movie one evening.
The Quebec court decision published earlier this week says the sister, who was 11 at the time, reported the incident to authorities at the request of her mother.
The case was heard by a court in Shawinigan, Que., northeast of Montreal, but the date of the incident is not included in the court ruling. Both children’s names are protected by a publication ban.
Judge Genevieve Marchand says the siblings got along, but she notes a strained relationship between the children’s mothers.
Marchand says the girl suffered no harm as a result of the teasing and that lack of malicious intent made a guilty verdict unjustifiable.
The judge says a declaration of guilt in this case would undermine the public’s confidence in the judicial system.