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'Clumsy Don Juan' convicted in controversial sexual assault case loses appeal

The man convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in Manitoba — a case that sparked public outcry when Justice Robert Dewar suggested the victim was partly to blame — has lost in appealing his conviction.

Conviction stands for Kenneth Rhodes, 44, whose case sparked national outrage after judge's 2011 comments

CBC News ·
Protesters rallied outside the Manitoba Law Courts building in Winnipeg in February 2011 calling for Justice Robert Dewar to resign after Dewar said "sex was in the air" when he spared a man jail time by handing him a two-year conditional sentence. (CBC)

The man convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in Manitoba — a case that sparked public outcry when Justice Robert Dewar suggested the victim was partly to blame — has lost his bid to appeal his conviction.

On Sept. 1, Kenneth Rhodes, 44, told Manitoba's Court of Appeal that inadequate legal representation and inconsistency in testimony between two separate trials are reason enough to have the conviction overturned.

Rhodes was first convicted on Feb. 18, 2011 when Dewar gave him a two-year conditional sentence, noting the victim was wearing a tube top, makeup and high heels.

"Sex was in the air," Dewar said at the time.

The comments ignited outrage across the country, and Dewar later apologized for them.

In November 2011, Manitoba's highest court overturned the sexual assault conviction Dewar handed to Rhodes, and granted him a new trial.

At the time, defence lawyer Josh Weinstein said the decision had nothing to do with Dewar's comments. Rather, Weinstein said, it was because Dewar dismissed his client's version of events, even though the evidence raised reasonable doubt.

Justice Robert Dewar was criticized for comments he made during the first trial for Kenneth Rhodes' sexual assault. ((Photo supplied by Department of Justice Canada))
At a second trial in 2014, Rhodes was convicted of sexual assault and given a three-year prison sentence. 

In September 2015, the Court of Appeal heard that at that trial, Rhodes' legal representation failed to cross-examine the victim and point out testimony that reportedly differed from that given during the first trial. 

On Thursday, that appeal was dismissed.

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