Toronto councillor's lawyer asks court to remove Crown in sexual assault case, alleging misconduct
CBC
WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
Toronto Coun. Michael Thompson's lawyer has asked an Ontario court to stay his sexual assault trial and remove the Crown attorney over alleged misconduct, an accusation the Crown called "frivolous" and a "thinly veiled" attempt to delay proceedings.
Thompson stands accused of two counts of sexual assault for alleged incidents that happened between him and two separate women at a Muskoka cottage in 2022.
On Monday, the fourth day of the trial in Bracebridge, Ont., the court in the judge-only trial heard from one of the complainants for the first time. The 35-year-old woman was called to the stand as a Crown witness.
The names of the complainants and the Crown's first witness, who took the stand last week, are protected under a publication ban.
But before the complainant entered the courtroom to take the stand, defence lawyer Leora Shemesh told the court she believed the Crown may have broken court orders. She said the Crown had tainted the witness's testimony by showing her photos that may come up in trial before she testified.
Shemesh said the witness should not have been shown the photos before her testimony, and the Crown was threatening Thompson's right to a fair trial.
Crown prosecutor Mareike Newhouse said she was simply preparing her witness, saying that was her legal duty.
The complainant was then allowed to take the stand for questioning from the Crown, but the defence would pick up the issue afterward.
During questioning from the Crown, the complainant alleged that during a small gathering at a Muskoka cottage over Canada Day weekend in 2022, which she had believed would be a networking opportunity, Thompson touched her buttocks and breasts under her bathing suit after applying sunscreen to her back.
The complainant said she met Thompson through a professional acquaintance after an art show in Yorkville in the spring of 2022. They met again before the summer at the collision convention in Toronto, she said, after which Thompson drove her and another person home, inviting the complainant to a small gathering of professionals at a Muskoka cottage for the Canada Day long weekend.
The complainant said she eventually accepted, but by then she was only available Sunday. So she said she asked if she could bring a friend, since she couldn't drive herself and wanted to have another person she knew at the cottage. Thompson said yes, so she and her friend, the other complainant in the case, drove up Sunday, she said.
They arrived around noon and only saw one car in the driveway when they arrived, the complainant said.
"I thought, this is really odd," she said.
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