# Source note — Justice Ayla Akgungor Alberta sexsomnia acquittal source trail

Date checked: 2026-07-29
Article: https://canadianjudges.ca/blog/justice-ayla-akgungor-alberta-sexsomnia-acquittal-source-trail-2026-07-29/
Judge profile: https://canadianjudges.ca/judges/ab-kb-ayla-akgungor/

## Lead
- User-provided Facebook screenshot from “Pierre Poilievre for Prime Minister” / Mark Shepherd, showing an embedded Ezra Levant post.
- Visible Ezra text: “DEI has taken over our justice system” and “An Alberta man accused of sexual assault has been cleared by Justice Ayla Akgungor, appointed by Justin Trudeau. After using ‘sexsomnia’ as his defence.”
- X public page metadata for Ezra Levant status 2082243451173691516 says: “Justice Ayla Akgungor, appointed by Justin Trudeau. Most of the extremist judges destroying Alberta were appointed by Trudeau. Independence would fix that.”

## Main source located
- National Post, “Alberta man who claimed 'sexsomnia' cleared of sexually assaulting ex in his sleep”: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/alberta-man-sexsomnia-cleared-of-sexual-assault
- National Post identifies Justice Ayla Akgungor, a July 17 decision from Wetaskiwin, Alta., and quotes the reasonable-doubt finding.

## What was verified
- Mainstream source verifies an Alberta case in which an accused identified as DW was found not guilty after the judge found reasonable doubt about whether he was fully conscious / had the requisite intent.
- National Post identifies the judge as Justice Ayla Akgungor and quotes the reasons.
- The user screenshot and X metadata verify that Ezra Levant framed the matter politically and linked the judge to a Trudeau appointment.

## What was not fully verified in this run
- Direct official court decision text from CanLII/Alberta Courts was not located. CanLII direct fetch often returns 403/CAPTCHA in this environment.
- Official federal appointment release for Justice Akgungor was not located in this pass, so “appointed by Justin Trudeau” is attributed to Ezra/X and not stated as independently confirmed here.
- Whether publication-ban restrictions apply beyond the anonymization already used by National Post was not independently confirmed. The article avoids complainant identifying details and uses DW only.

## Editorial rule used
- Treat this as a source trail / judicial decision accountability note, not a misconduct finding.
- Do not state that the accused committed sexual assault; he was acquitted/not convicted.
- Do not turn the “DEI” claim into a finding; attribute it as advocacy framing.
- Avoid private contact details and harassment prompts.
## Profile-image update
- 2026-07-29: User supplied a cropped/standalone Ezra Levant Show commentary thumbnail for display on the Justice Akgungor profile. It remains labelled as a source thumbnail / not an official court portrait because the image includes show branding and commentary graphics and has not been authenticated against an official court source.