MORINVILLE — A Sherwood Park, Alta., man who was charged with sexual assault of a minor and other offences has been acquitted.
RCMP charged Michael Hoffart with two counts of sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching after they said he was discovered in a car with a 15-year-old girl.
Judge M. Jeanne Burch ruled Thursday that Hoffart took all reasonable steps to determine that the victim was over the age of 16.
Investigators say the girl told Hoffart that she was 20.
The pair met through an online dating website.
Recent federal legislation changed the age of consent from 14 to 16.