A man who sprayed a cleaning product at women’s legs to disintegrate their tights while they walked downtown has been found guilty of assault, but the offences do not meet the standard of sexual assault, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled Tuesday.
Sean James O’Reilly was found guilty of seven counts of assault related to incidents in downtown Victoria near the Bay Centre between Nov. 17, 2022, and Dec. 29, 2022, in which women experienced their tights dissolving. He faced charges of sexual assault at trial.
Women reported feeling like they had been splashed with a liquid and then realizing their nylons were disintegrating. Some said they felt a burning or itching sensation, which disappeared fairly quickly and did not cause lasting injury.
A woman testified that when she touched her legs, her hands became covered in a sticky, black residue, while holes appeared in her tights. A prickling and burning sensation stopped once she showered.
In a statement to police, O’Reilly said he carried the cleaning product in a syringe to splash on women’s legs because he liked the look of the destroyed nylons, calling it a fetish.
Justice Anthony Saunders said O’Reilly made each of his victims unwilling participants in what was for him a sexual purpose.
“Mr. O’Reilly essentially removed portions of his victims’ clothing, exposing portions of skin as high as their upper thighs that they had chosen to conceal, without their consent,” Saunders said, calling O’Reilly’s behaviour “selfish, narcissistic, offensive and disturbing.”
While it was clear O’Reilly violated the bodily integrity of each victim, there were no interactions between him and the women to make them aware they were subject to domination or control, Saunders said, finding the offences did not meet the standard for sexual assault.
None of those affected testified to feeling that their sexual integrity had been violated, he said.
“To a reasonable, objective observer, unaware of Mr. O’Reilly’s private motivations, the sexual context of his actions would not be apparent,” Saunders said.
A sentencing date has not been set.
