Closing arguments have wrapped up in the case involving 3 Toronto Police officers accused of sexually assaulting a female colleague.
Allegations are the men did not have the complainant's consent for the group-sex they had on police 'rookie buy night,' after bar-hopping on a freezing-cold Friday evening in January 2015.
On Tuesday, attorneys for the defense argued their clients should have their charges thrown out of court because the detectives assigned to the case bungled the probe from the beginning.
The defense contends evidence that might back up the story of constables Leslie Nyznik, Josh Cabero, and Sameer Kara could be found in security video that was never recovered by the police, and then lost forever.
Defense attorneys accuse investigators of "unacceptable negligence" in failing to collect video from the Westin Harbour Castle and the taxi that took the group from their final bar-crawling stop at a strip club, to the hotel.
The defense argues not being able to draw on that evidence gave the Crown an advantage.
Key to the complainant's accusation is that from the time she got back to that hotel room, she was impaired and disoriented to the point of slipping in and out of consciousness.
That's how she claims her alleged attackers were able to take advantage of her.
The accused insist the complainant seemed "completely normal" that night, even during the taxi ride back to the hotel.
The lead Toronto Police investigator admitted during the trial that he could have done more to track down video that might have shed light on who was telling the truth.
The allegation is the lead detective was more worried about his upcoming vacation than he was about following up with the evidence.
Det.-Sgt. Jeff Attenborough is a cop with decades of experience but it was only the third time he'd ever looked into allegations of sex assault.
Justice Anne Malloy concedes footage from the taxi ride back to the hotel could have been "critical" to getting to the truth.
The Crown chocks the mistake up to "human frailty."
Justice Malloy potentially has two decisions to reach by August 9th:
The second is whether or not the Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt the 3 constables did not have the complainant's consent.
The first is whether or not the charges should be stayed.
If she disagrees with the defense, the 3 officers will learn their fate.
A sex assault conviction carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.