Couple on trial for alleged sex assault on teenager

*Warning: disturbing content

A Saskatoon couple accused of raping a 16-year-old girl in a Pacific Heights basement is now before a jury in Court of Queen’s Bench.

The man and woman are charged with one count of sexual assault each in connection with alleged incidents on June 19-20, 2015.

The complainant, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, alleges the accused man raped her on a couch while his girlfriend held her down.

“She did not consent and could not consent,” Crown prosecutor Rochelle Wempe said in her opening statement to the jury on Monday.

The underage girl had been blacking out after a night of heavy drinking with four adults, the jury heard.

Wempe said the girl met the accused couple when her uncle brought them back to the house to socialize after a night out at the bar.

The 16-year-old lived with her mother on the main floor of the home, while her uncle lived in the basement. Her mother was out of town on the night of the incident, Wempe told the jury.

She said the girl, who was inexperienced with alcohol, drank beer and liquor with the group until her uncle passed out. Wempe said the evidence will show the girl blacked out and awoke in a vehicle with the accused woman driving. The woman’s boyfriend, who was in the back seat, put his hand inside the girl’s shirt and bra.

Her next memory is of the couple fondling her on her uncle’s couch and the man penetrating her while the woman held her down, Wempe told the jury.

She said the girl told them “no” and to stop because it hurt.

The complainant made a report the next day and police seized couch cushion covers, pillowcases and a blanket from the basement where the alleged assault took place.

Police officers testified that a rape kit was also performed on the complainant. A vaginal swab that was sent for testing contained only the teen girl’s DNA, city police Sgt. Chelsea Shepherd testified.

However, Wempe said, a doctor noted a vaginal injury during the exam.