Brazen opportunism in committing sexual offences near sleeping persons is insufficient to constitute 'striking similarity' for the purposes of admitting similar fact evidence, following Phillips v The Queen. Significant dissimilarities between alleged offences — such as one involving heavy alcohol consumption and an invitation versus another involving sobriety and physical threats — preclude a finding of an underlying pattern of conduct. A trial judge should not comment on defence counsel's failure to put a specific proposition to a complainant where the accused's plea of not guilty puts the elements in issue and the Crown has tendered a denial, particularly where the failure is likely attributable to counsel's oversight.
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