You miss the point. Whether a charge of sexual assault proceeds by way of indictment or summary conviction, it's still a criminal offence. Either way it may bring very significant social and legal penalties. Hence the courts do all they can not to convict the innocent. And the innocent and guilty alike do everything they can not to be convicted.

I brought up the allegation of Gomeshi pulling a woman's hair to point out that a 'zero-tolerance policy' towards sexual assault, in conjunction with the law's heavy penalties, is unlikely to bring us closer to justice in these matters.

The law already recognizes that there are degrees of sexual assault. There is the charge of aggravated sexual assault when grave violence is involved. Perhaps the law should likewise recognize that some lesser sexual offences do not warrant a criminal charge.