This article discusses sexual violence and may be triggering for some readers. The Kingston Sexual Assault Centre’s 24-hour crisis and phone line can be reached at 613-544-6424 / 1-800-544-6424. For on campus , community may email [email protected].
Two Queen’s students have been acquitted of sexual assault charges in Mexico after spending over a week in detention.
Matthew Lowe and Joseph “Joey” Trusler, both Comm ’25, were arrested on Feb. 19 in Tulum for allegedly sexually assaulting a young Canadian woman at a hotel during Reading Week. The men were acquitted on Feb. 27 after a judge ruled the evidence against them was “null and void,” according to their lawyer, José López Alonso.
“I can confirm that my clients Matthew Lowe and Joseph Trusler were fully acquitted today by a Tulum judge,” Alonso said in an email to The Journal. “The judge ruled the evidence against them is null and void.”
Alonso explained the judge determined the available evidence demonstrated that the alleged assault “never occurred as was told by the victim and her witnesses.”
Global Affairs Canada confirmed on Feb. 26 that consular officials were in with local authorities regarding the incident involving the three Canadians but declined to provide further details, citing privacy considerations.
A GoFundMe campaign launched by Trusler’s family described the ordeal as “the most terrifying and horrific” experience of their lives, saying that Trusler was wrongfully accused and spent eight days in a Mexican prison before being released.
The fundraiser detailed the extensive legal battle, stating the family spent more than $440,000 USD in legal fees to secure his acquittal. At the time of publication, they’ve received just over $18,000 in donations.
“The prison experience was unforgettable. The Trusler Family and the lawyers spent days and nights tirelessly reviewing statements from the plaintiff, her friends, Joey’s friends and hotel staff. They also meticulously reviewed hours of surveillance footage trying to piece together exactly what happened,” the GoFundMe reads.
“It was near the end of these proceeding when the judge quickly ruled that the evidence provided by the prosecutor was insufficient to even warrant a trial,” it says.
The Journal reached out to both Lowe and Trusler but they declined to comment.
In an e-mail sent to The Journal, their families stated both students are expected to return to Queen’s this week and resume their studies.
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Jeff
This story seems to have a huge omission, which would be any information on the acc. And if there’s indeed no evidence against the two accused, there should be a massive lawsuit coming against her and her collaborators.
Zedrick Serson
The accusation not being sustained in court does not mean the acc was lying, Jeff. Shame on you.
M
Ladies—guilty or not, avoid these two men like the plague.
karma will get you
If you spent over $400,000 in legal fees I guarantee you did something wrong; also wait until the reason why the judge acquitted it comes out and you will be shocked at the dumb reason. Anyway, it’s 2025 and nothing has changed, men from wealthy families can get away with anything and women will continue to be victims, luckily their names are published so future women can protect themselves from these rapists.
Samantha
You really think that cost has anything to do with guilt? You could be charged with something like marijuana possession in Mexico and would still have to pay that amount in lawyer fees if you want to get out.
Karma
So what I’m hearing you say Samantha is that no matter what the crime is, it costs a lot of money to pay off whoever you need in order to be released from prison? I imagine there are people with drug charges being held much longer than a week in prison, and I don’t know about your views, but I’m more concerned with people being sexually assaulted then people getting high, but to each their own I suppose.
Athena
You are straight up explicitly calling these guys rapists, while at the same time arguing that there is not enough information, despite the case being nullified… You are right about one thing though: It’s 2025 and nothing has changed -if guys get accused of SA, and the girl is presumably in the wrong, that guy is smeared as a rapist no matter what.
H
Hope the plaintiff is doing alright. Not surprised given the backgrounds of the two boys.
disappointed but not surprised
Curious why QJ felt the need to provide the link to a GoFundMe for these men and essentially give it a larger platform. Could have mentioned that there was one (for the sake of reporting) without actively providing the link – that’s something people can seek out on their own time if they wish to donate to these people. As a survivor of SA, this seems like extremely poor taste.
Alison
8 days from arrest to evidence being reviewed by a judge and charges being thrown out? Hard to believe that the investigation and assessment of the evidence was thorough. And the reporting here is less than optimal and suggests that the Queen’s Journal is primarily concerned about getting out the message that Queen’s students are innocent. Nothing to suggest that they reached out to the complainant, her family or her lawyer/Mexican prosecutor for their comment. No question or even noting about how quickly this wrapped up. No research or commentary about whether this time line and process was typical in Mexico… Shoddy and rushed investigations and biased or incomplete media coverage of these issues is a disservice to all.
Sandy
You are assuming that they are rich and that she was the victim and not the two boys (who are presumed innocent btw) who had to spend a week in a Mexican prison. A lot of opinions in the comments without any facts
karma
hi Sandy,
you’re correct I am assuming the victim, is in fact the victim. I imagine this young woman on vacation didn’t decide to ruin her trip or her mental health to falsely report a rape. Spending a week in a Mexican prison is called the consequences of your actions. Also we can assume that the one male comes from a wealthy family due to the fact they had $440,000 readily available to pay off who they needed to in order to have this dropped, but also they in very poor taste started a go fund me which lists family names which you can easily google and locate the family . You don’t believe the woman but you believe the men, a real girls girl clearly.
Mario
These little dudes will have to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives ……they are done.
Karma
Hi Athena, my comments are to say that there is a lack of information given to the public (not a lack of information in general), I am not going to out the female who was the victim or give information to random people on the internet, because clearly it doesn’t matter. I hope you are happy your friends charges were dropped!