Defense in sex assault trial pokes holes in woman’s testimony of paid sex, death threats

White presented her with transcripts of three statements given to RCMP; one on July 12, 2017 one two weeks later on August 1, and another handwritten statement given to police sometime between July and August of the same year.

He asked her about the number of adults working at the recreational/civic centre where she went rollerblading on a regular basis, and suggested that while her version of events indicated there were no adults other than her and the 75-year-old accused in the building, there were in fact other adults there as well, collecting admission money and accompanying their children.

He also asked the woman how many times she alleged the elderly man touched her on the bottom and thighs when she was between the ages of 12 and 14. According to one police statement, the thigh touching did not occur, while in another, it did. Similarly, there were discrepancies in statements about incidents involving the man allegedly touching her buttocks.

“I’m going to suggest you changed your story from statement to statement,” said White.

The young woman admitted to the court that she may be confusing events and timelines. She told the court that sometimes she got details mixed up and that her memory was questionable at certain times.

“Has your memory changed from yesterday to today,” asked White?

“I remember it happening, I’m just really bad with dates. I messed up dates a lot,” said the 19-year-old.

The young woman also told the court that she had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She had seen specialists in Calgary, and her illness had an impact on her short-term memory or other memories, depending on what part of her brain was being attacked at a given time.

White continued with his cross-examination, asking her the number of times she had oral and vaginal sex with the elderly man, asking whether it was more than 50 times or more than 100 times, the location of the encounters and how they occurred.

The woman told the court it could have been around 50 times, adding “that sounds pretty close,” however, an hour later, she testified she wasn’t sure how many times it occurred.

“The reason your story changes from statement to statement is because you are lying. Do you agree or disagree,” asked White?

“I disagree,” the young woman said.

She was also asked to identify pictures of the campground office, her trailer location on the campground, the inside of the office and some of its contents. She identified each location easily, except for an area in the man’s home used for teaching.

A second exercise involved her putting a series of more than half a dozen events in the order in which they occurred.

The woman also told the court several times that her mother did not like, nor did she approve of the 75-year-old man who had given her a job at the campground. However, during testimony later, she also told the court that when she was fired from her position by the older man, that she and her mother got into a fight and her mother told her, “You had a really good job. You had a really great boss.”

It was then, the woman said, that she told her mother she was allegedly having sex with the 75-year-old man, and while her mother didn’t like him, he gave the young woman an opportunity in a town that was not giving her a chance.

The trial continues Wednesday, when the Crown is expected to call additional witnesses, including one of the woman’s former boyfriends.

The accused is expected to testify on Thursday, but the trial may need additional time other than the four days allotted.

by Lara Fominoff

Defense in sex assault trial pokes holes in woman’s testimony of paid sex, death threats

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