Firefighters didn’t see alleged groping, court hears
Testimony that conflicts with an allegation a now-former chief of the Fort St. James fire department groped a woman volunteer firefighter was heard Monday. Although Donald Fraser thought Robert Harold Bennett was generally being a pest and acting inappropriately, he did not recall Bennett grabbing one of Kirsten Rudolph’s breasts during a July 2013 confrontation at the department’s main hall.
Rather, Fraser said it appeared Bennett was merely “poking her sides” as she sat in the hall’s common room. Like Rudolph had testified earlier in the trial, Fraser said Bennett had been playing with her ponytail then reached around from behind.
In response, Rudolph crossed her arms and was “kind of wiggling back and forth,” Fraser testified.
Fraser said he was sitting about nine feet away and doesn’t have the best hearing and so did not hear anything Bennett may have said. Rudolph had testified Bennett suggested they go have sex in his office as he whispered into her ear. As Bennett bothered Rudolph, Fraser said a fellow firefighter, John Bennison, asked her if she’d had enough. “And she said ‘almost,’” Fraser told the court. “And then he continued pestering and she said ‘now I’ve had enough.’”
Bennison then told Bennett to “knock it off,” Fraser said, and Bennett subsequently left the room.
Fraser, who was an assistant fire chief, said Bennett’s behaviour was concerning enough for him to tell Rudolph she could file a complaint with the municipality. “I offered the idea, I didn’t suggest,” Fraser emphasized.
When Rudolph said she wanted to file, Fraser said he phoned the municipal office the next day and was told the chief administrative officer Kevin Crook was not in. Fraser said he then contacted Rudolph and told her they should just go in on the Monday following the weekend.
To Fraser’s surprise, another woman, Lisa Button, also showed up with a written complaint. He also was not expecting they would be complaining about previous harassment.
“I thought it would just be about that Thursday night,” Fraser said.
Later Monday at the trial, Bennison gave similar testimony to Fraser’s, saying all he remembered was Bennett playing with Rudolph’s ponytail. Bennison said he was sitting to the side and did not have a direct look at what was happening.
When Rudolph said she’d had enough, Bennison said he and Fraser stepped in and Bennett left, saying he could see he wasn’t wanted.
The seven-man, five-woman jury in the B.C. Supreme Court trial also heard testimony from Fraser and Bennison about another key allegation.
On the night of April 2013, they said Bennett was drunk enough for him to stumble as he was going down a flight of stairs at the main hall. Bennison briefly pinned Bennett against a wall while he regained his footing and they continued on their way down the the main floor.
Fraser and Bennison then left for about a half hour to check on the possibility of using a home at a nearby mobile home park for a controlled burn. When they returned, they saw a “flash” of two people crossing a window on the second floor.
— see BENNETT, page 3
Fraser said Bennett’s behaviour was concerning enough for him to tell Rudolph she could file a complaint with the municipality.