THUNDER BAY – The woman alleging sexual assault against two former University of Ottawa hockey players says she was urged by a friend not to accompany another member of the Gee-Gees back to the team's hotel.
Taking the stand for a second day at the Thunder Bay Courthouse, the woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, continued to recount events from the night more than four years ago. Two former players – David Foucher and Guillaume Donovan – are standing trial with each facing one count of sexual assault.
The woman had connected with another member of the team, Taylor Collins, on an online dating app when the squad arrived in Thunder Bay on the Friday for a weekend series against the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
After exchanging text messages through the app during the two days, the pair arranged to meet at a local on the Saturday night following the hockey game.
The woman said they met at the bar, had drinks and danced. But before they left, she testified a friend tried to discourage her from leaving.
“I don’t think you should go. You don’t know him,” she recalled her friend saying.
While waiting for a taxi, she met a man who was introduced to her as the team’s captain.
Once they arrived back at the hotel, the woman and Collins went to the player’s room and began engaging in sexual activity on one of the two beds.
She told the court she wasn’t aware of anybody else being in the room, though she did not search it to see if they were alone. There was no knocking on the door and she didn’t hear any laughter or teammates joking with Collins, she added.
The woman realized they weren’t alone in the room when she saw a naked man standing in the corner. Collins got up and left in the direction of the washroom and main door.
At that point, another man came up from the foot end of the bed, climbed on top of her and began having sexual intercourse. When that man stopped, another straddled his hips over her face and forced her to perform oral sex.
The first man who climbed on top of her then told her to “just do it. He’s Taylor’s roommate.” She had previously testified the man had a deep voice with a French accent.
Crown prosecutor Marc Huneault asked how the hair colour of that man compared to the player who was introduced to her as the team’s captain.
“They were the same,” she replied.
While those two men had physical contact with her, she told the court a third man stood in the room touching his penis.
After she gathered her clothes, she raced out of the room to the hallway and went around a corner. She called the same friend who asked her not to go with Collins, asking to be picked up from the hotel. The woman then went into a stairwell, where she asked Collins to come.
Under cross-examination from Christian Deslauriers, Donovan’s lawyer, she was asked to describe their interaction in the stairwell.
“He was just calm. (He) wasn’t very comforting,” she said.
When she exited the hotel she encountered a man wearing a Gee-Gees team jacket, who she punched in the face.
Her friend took her to the hospital, where she waited for hours before being told a specialized sexual assault nurse wasn’t available. She returned to the hospital hours later, where she declined a physical examination.
The trial is scheduled to resume on Monday and continue with the alleged victim’s cross examination.
