A 40-year-old man on trial for a string of assaults took the stand Wednesday to emphatically deny allegations leveled against him by his ex-girlfriend.
The man, who isn't being named to protect the identity of the woman, is accused of committing numerous violent acts – including assault, sexual assault and uttering threats – against his former partner over a four year period.
“This is ridiculous. These are lies,” the man said, responding to the Crown prosecutor Jay Potter's line of questioning during cross-examination. The man is being tried by a judge and 10 person jury.
Potter revisited each of the man's six charges related to five separate allegations, focusing first on an alleged sexual assault the woman said occurred in 2012. The woman testified Monday the man – who would sometimes meet her for sex – immediately made unwanted sexual contact after she went over to his Yellowknife apartment.
The accused denied the claim, saying his encounters with the woman would usually led to sex but never that quickly, and never without consent.
Potter pressed the man on a number of other alleged incidents – said to have occurred when the two were in a relationship from 2013 to 2016 – which he adamantly refuted, rejecting the suggestion he drank just as much as his ex-girlfriend when they lived together and that his memory could be foggy as a result.
He maintained the woman's drinking drove him to end the relationship. The man testified that in 2016, his ex-partner contacted him accusing him of cheating.
His lawyer, Charles Davison, suggested Monday the woman's allegations stem from rumours of infidelity, and that the injuries she claims were caused by the accused happened as a result of unrelated incidents.
In making his closing submissions to the jury – made up of six men and four women – Davison urged members to find his client not guilty of all charges, saying the woman was an unreliable witness who gave testimony that at times had an “aura of being made up on the spot.”
The defence focused on her claim that the accused “ripped off” her clothes during the first alleged incident, noting she hadn't mentioned it during the preliminary hearing or to police in 2016. “The truth is not a multiple choice” solution, said Davison.
Potter implored the jury to look past inconsistencies in the woman's recollection of years-old events, instead asking members to focus on the evidence against the accused. While the woman's decision to stay with the accused may seem unusual at first blush, Potter said it's often difficult for people to come forward to police, and that when she finally did she had “found her voice.”
The jury was deliberating Thursday afternoon at press time.
Unexpected house guest sentenced for assault, threats
A 19-year-old Yellowknife man who made death threats during an unexpected visit to a pair of bewildered neighbours was given a conditional discharge in NWT territorial court Wednesday.
“This is serious stuff,” said Judge Garth Malakoe, addressing the young man.
The court heard the the defendant, who isn’t being named because he’s a first-time offender, attended a neighbour’s residence in November of last year, where he began banging on the door and demanding to be let inside.
A man answered the door before being shoved against a wall by the offender, who demanded to see another individual who was also in the house. When the second individual appeared, the offender called him a snitch and said he killed snitches.
The two men – father and son – didn’t know the intruder and weren’t sure why he showed up at their doorstep. They also weren’t particularly fearful of the unwelcome guest, and even laughed at times during the incident.
The 19-year-old pleaded guilty to assault and uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.
As a first-time offender, jail time wasn’t on the table, and the man’s lawyer asked for a conditional discharge instead, a request Malakoe granted.
“Not as a gift to you, but as a warning to you,” said Malakoe. “This could have gone wrong in a number of ways.”
Sentenced to nine months probation, the man is barred from contacting the two victims and cannot drink. Along with counselling, he must complete 36 hours of community service.
Judge drives home anti-impairment message
A territorial judge took time to drive home an anti-impairment message before sentencing a Yellowknife man who blew over the legal limit during a roadside stop.
“What school did you go to?,” Judge Garth Malakoe asked the defendant in NWT territorial court Wednesday. The 29-year-old man, who isn’t being identified by Yellowknifer because he’s a first-time offender, named a city school to the judge.
Malakoe said he’s aware just how much the school system emphasizes the risks of drunk driving.
“It’s trite to say you knew better. You did,” Malakoe told the man, adding the consequences will have far-reaching effects to his professional and personal life.
Fortunately, he said, the effects didn’t include someone being hurt or killed.
The defendant was charged in May 2017 after he was pulled over by police, who noted his intoxication. The man pleaded guilty one count of operation while impaired.
He's barred from driving for two years and must pay a $2,500 fine.