THUNDER BAY - The trial against two former Ottawa University hockey players accused of sexual assault opened on Monday in a Thunder Bay courtroom and continued on Tuesday with the cross-examination of a former teammate.
The trial against David Foucher, 28, and Guillaume Donovan, 27, opened on Monday after several delays. The two men are accused of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old Thunder Bay woman in a hotel on Feb. 2, 2014 following a hockey game against the Lakehead University Thunderwolves. Both men entered a plea of not guilty on Monday.
The first witness called by counsel for the Crown, Marc Huneault, was Taylor Collins, a former teammate of the two accused who was in Thunder Bay with the Ottawa team in February 2014.
Collins testified that he met the alleged victim at a bar that night, after the pair connected on a mobile dating app. The two returned to the hotel where the team was staying and engaged consensual sex.
According to the witness’ testimony, he saw Donovan and the woman engage in a sexual act as he was leaving the room and that he saw both Foucher and Donovan emerge from the room a short time later.
Foucher’s attorney, Celina St. Francois, began cross-examination of the witness Tuesday morning. He was asked if he ever tried to intimidate the woman into keeping quiet about the alleged assault at the hands of Foucher and Donovan, to which the witness replied, “I can’t recall.”
Proceedings were interrupted when Huneault objected to the line of questioning and members of counsel and Justice Chantal Brochu held a closed session for several hours.
When court resumed, St. Francois concluded her line of questioning, during which she asked about a text message between the witness and the alleged victim, in which he stated as a rookie player, he was asked to leave the room by Foucher and Donovan, two veterans on the team. He testified that he was lying to the woman in the text and he was not asked to leave by the two accused.
Donovan’s attorney, Christian Deslauriers, then began his cross-examination, during which he asked Collins a series of questions regarding the details of how he met the alleged victim on the dating app and what they did after meeting at a local bar, if she had any interactions with other players on the team, and how much alcohol was consumed.
Collins said he had between five and six drinks at the hotel, and an additional five or six at the bar. He also said he bought the woman a drink at the bar.
He testified that he could not recall if the alleged victim had any contact with other members of the team while at the bar, nor could he remember if any of her friends tried to dissuade her from returning with him to the hotel that night.
Cross-examination of the witness is expected to continue Wednesday morning. The trial, which was originally scheduled to begin last August, was delayed to allow one of the defense lawyers to deal with a personal issue. The trial is expected to last 10 days.
With files from TBT News.
