Arguments at stepfather's sexual assault trial focus on teen's perceptions

The defence argues a teen girl who accused her stepfather of sexually abusing her while changing her soiled pull-ups is mistakenly “conflating concepts.” The Crown argues she remembers specifics that could not be mistaken for anything but sexual abuse.

The girl testified that the abuse started when she was 11 years old, and that her stepfather would unzip his pants and put his penis inside her vagina “over and over and over,” Crown prosecutor Lana Morelli said in her closing arguments at the man's sexual assault trial on Monday.

The girl also recalled sounds and motions, and that she stared at a cross on the wall while it happened.

The accused, who cannot be named because it would identify the complainant, pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and sexual interference against the girl over a four-year period. He stood trial at Saskatoon Court of Queen's Bench in September.

The girl testified that the abuse happened while her stepfather cleaned her after she had “accidents” and sometimes, after she saw him watching pornography on his phone.

She was clear that this was what happened during what her stepfather called “squish squish time,” and did not confuse the term with squish toys that she sometimes used, Morelli said.

The accused testified that he had to put his hands near the girl's genital region when cleaning her, but said he never touched her for a sexual purpose.

“She may in fact believe that she was sexually assaulted, but he actually didn't do anything,” defence lawyer Chris Lavier said.

The girl, who disclosed the alleged sexual abuse after a health class in 2019, operates at a lower cognitive level than her age, wore pull-ups and was unable to properly change and clean herself because of a condition called spina bifida, the trial heard.

Lavier argued the girl took concepts she learned in health class, combined them with her views that sex is a sin, and mistakenly conflated her father cleaning her genitals and openly watching pornography as sexual abuse.

The girl also wanted to please Const. Heidi Marshall, the RCMP officer who interviewed her and who she testified she really liked, Lavier said.

He argued Marshall had “tunnel vision” and accepted what the girl said to be true without pursuing other avenues, like a medical exam, to verify her accusations.

Morelli said none of this changes what the girl divulged in the interview. She testified that the assaults hurt. Her mother testified that the girl spotted when she was 11 years old, but didn't menstruate until years later, Morelli noted.

She said there is no evidence that the girl had a history of fabrication — only that she struggled with timelines.

Justice Grant Currie has reserved his decision until Jan. 12.