How have courts interpreted the law in the context of sexual assault cases?

Dickson J. quoted the following statement of Devlin J. from Reynolds v. Austin & Sons Limited, [1951] 2 K.B. 135 at p. 139: If a man is punished because of an act done by another, whom he cannot reasonably be expected to influence or control, the law is engaged, not in punishing thoughtlessness or inefficiency, and thereby promoting the welfare of the community, but in pouncing on the most convenient victim.