DEFENCE offers no EVIDENCE in sex Assault trial
Lawyer suggests alleged victim had consensual rough sex with accused
Closing arguments are set after the defence for Saskatoon massage therapist Mark Donlevy did not present any evidence at Donlevy’s sexual assault trial.
On Thursday, the second day of Donlevy’s trial for a date rape alleged to have happened in the summer of 2004, Donlevy’s defence lawyer told a Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench justice that he would call no witnesses.
Closing arguments in the case are now scheduled for Friday morning, with a decision expected Sept. 27.
On Wednesday, court heard from a 42-year-old woman who said Donlevy raped her after they spent a day together in the summer of 2004. Her identity is protected under a publication ban.
She reported the incident to police in late 2016 after she saw news reports that Donlevy was facing sexual assault charges related to his work as a massage therapist.
Donlevy is scheduled to stand trial later this year on 11 counts of sexual assault related to his massage therapy work for incidents alleged to have happened between 2003 and 2016.
The woman who accused Donlevy of raping her in the summer of 2004 testified Wednesday that she met Donlevy through an online dating site. She said the two met for coffee and then went mini golfing, to a drive-in movie and to a club, where they danced. She said she felt intoxicated at the club and asked to go back to Donlevy ’s place.
Once there, she testified, she told Donlevy she felt sick and wanted to sleep. She said he led her to his bedroom and forced her to have sex while she cried and told him she didn’t want to.
She told the court she accused Donlevy afterward of sexually assaulting her and that, in response, he called her a “prude” and “a tease.”
During cross-examination, the defence questioned how the woman could remember details of an event that happened 14 years ago, and raised issue with the fact that she shared details of the assault — including that she had accused Donlevy of sexually assaulting her — that she had not shared in earlier statements or at the preliminary hearing. The woman said she continues to remember details about the assault through flashbacks and that she had not remembered until after the preliminary hearing accusing Donlevy of sexually assaulting her.
The defence suggested the woman had consensual rough sex with Donlevy. She vehemently disagreed. The Crown said Thursday that it had more witnesses, but would not call them because the defence indicated it would not raise allegations of recent fabrications.