Lethbridge Courthouse

By Connor Gunn

Court hears testimony of second complainant in Sohil Bindra sex assault trial

Nov 16, 2021 | 3:47 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – **Warning – graphic content in this article**

The testimony has been heard from the second alleged victim in the first of three trials for Lethbridge’s Sohil Bindra.

Bindra, who was 33-years-old when he was charged with sexual assault and housebreaking, has had six separate complainants come forward about his alleged sex-related actions towards them spanning over the last four years.

Previous story: First week concludes in sex assault trial #1 of Sohil Bindra

The alleged victim, who will be called Complainant #2, told the story of how Bindra (who was going by the name “Tony”) allegedly sexually assaulted her on the night of December 8, 2018.

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Complainant #2 was invited to a party at a restaurant that evening where she was introduced to a handful of new people, one being “Tony.”

The group stayed at the restaurant, drinking for a couple of hours, then walked to a different bar where more drinks were had.

Complainant #2 needed somewhere to stay that evening as she lived out of town. Her friend said she could stay at his place but that friend eventually left the party early, making complainant #2 unable to stay there due to not knowing their address.

A person in the group told Complainant #2 that their friend Tony had an extra bed and that he wouldn’t mind if she stayed the night.

She accepted Tony’s offer and eventually went to his house. She stepped out for a smoke not long after arriving, and when she walked back inside, he had reportedly poured a drink for her.

At this point in the evening, Complainant #2 said she wasn’t very intoxicated but would say she was “drunk,” but “not over the top drunk.”

She declined his drink offer multiple times before eventually “taking a couple of sips.” He showed her the spare bedroom bed where she would be sleeping that night. He then allegedly “convinced” her to watch a show with him in his room.

The two started watching the show. She started feeling sick and “ill” so she went to the nearest bathroom and vomited.

She told the court the drink “tasted off.” Her back was hurting that evening and Tony offered to give her a back massage. She said no multiple times before saying yes as she didn’t want to be “rude.”

Complainant #2 said she was “pretty sure” that she took her own shirt off for the massage. She then fell asleep not long afterward.

She woke up abruptly to “Tony,” who was allegedly penetrating her with his penis in her vagina. She said, “no, please stop,” but he reportedly continued.

Tony allegedly said to Complainant #2, “you wanted this,” and she responded saying “no, I didn’t want this.”

To her recollection, after Tony ejaculated in her vagina. She suddenly woke up the next morning at approximately 11:30 am and was wondering what happened the evening prior.

She was “completely naked” when she woke up the next morning, she said she doesn’t believe she took her own clothes off. She got out of the bed, grabbed her phone after getting dressed, and texted a friend saying she thinks that Tony took advantage of her.

Tony then drove her to her car which was at the restaurant from the night before. She got into the car, drove to her friend’s house, and needed to use the bathroom before talking to her friend about the situation.

When she was in the bathroom, she noticed her legs were quite bruised. She then had a brief conversation about what happened the night prior and then exited the friend’s home.

Complainant #2 went to the hospital to get a sexual assault assessment done and the physician noted there was “immense bruising on her legs, inside thigh, and around the vagina.”

She asked her friend for more information on Tony and was sent his legal name (Sohil Bindra) and his Facebook profile. which she took a screenshot of with her phone for the police report.

Complainant #2 then reported the alleged incident to the police shortly after within the next couple of weeks.

In the courtroom, when asked if Complainant #2 ever gave consent to having sexual contact with Tony, she said “no.’

Bindra’s Defense Attorney, Andre Ouelette, asked her if her judgment was compromised due to her already being intoxicated on the night, of which, she said “yes.”

Ouelette said, judging by her level of impairment and that the test results show there were no drugs in her system the following day, and that she admitted to saying “I was not drugged” in her police statement, he asked:

“That night, you may well have consented to Mr. Bindra,” which she replied, “Even if I originally said yes at first, if I said no afterward, then it’s now not consent.”

Ouelette made the point known that alcohol affects judgment and decision making, in which Complainant #2 answered, “yes, I agree,” but made the point, “no matter what my actions were if I said no, he still shouldn’t have done what he did.”

The trial will continue for the rest of the week.

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