Sexual Assault Trial Centred Around Question of Consent
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LETHBRIDGE: The sexual assault trial in an incident dating back to 2013 has wrapped up, and only the verdict remains.
Darius Shawn Chief Body is accused of jumping and sexually assaulting a 30-year old hearing impaired, while she was walking near 6 Avenue and 6 Street South in the early morning hours of March 28, 2013.
The alleged victim testified that she started the day by spending her welfare check on crack cocaine, and when that ran out she sold her mini-van, which she had purchased less than a year earlier for $5,000, for $200 worth cocaine. After smoking that with an acquaintance, she went for a walk, noting that the battery in her hearing aid had died, leaving her deaf. She stated that without warning she was shoved from behind and fell to the ground. At that point someone climbed on top of her and sexually assaulted her, before running away.
Chief Body countered by saying that after an evening of drinking he had gone out looking for more alcohol, when he ran into a woman who started talking to him. He claimed that she offered him sexual favours for money, and after agreeing on a price of $20, they had consentual sex behind some bushes. After they were finished, he stated that he couldn’t find the $20 he had promised her, so he ran away. Under cross examination from the Crown as to why he ran and if he felt guilty, Chief Body only respond by saying, “I was just scared”.
