Flirting doesn’t equal consent, witness tells court

An intoxicated woman being flirtatious is not an open invitation to engage in sexual activity, the friend of a woman who has accused a group of high school students of sexual assault, told court Wednesday.

The 19-year-old male, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the complainant, testified in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines that his highly intoxicated friend was acting “flirty” while at a party held in St. Catharines on Aug. 13, 2016.

“But, flirty doesn’t mean consent,” the witness said as he was being cross-examined by defence lawyer Michael Delgobbo who represents one of the teens.

Four teens, all 17 when they were arrested in October 2016, have each pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault and being party to the offence of sexual assault.

The defendants, students at A.N. Myer Secondary School at the time of their arrest, cannot be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The name of the complainant, 18 at the time of the incident, is protected under a court-imposed publication ban.

Her friend testified approximately 65 teenagers attended the party, mostly students from Denis Morris Catholic High School in St. Catharines and A.N. Myer in Niagara Falls.

He told court he confronted two Myer students the day after his friend said she’d been raped by three men.

He said the duo initially said they simply drove the intoxicated woman home after the party. He said one of the teens later admitted to fondling the woman.

His friend, meanwhile, told him she was driven to a Thorold parking lot and “was coming in and out of consciousness” while in the backseat of the vehicle.

“She said, ‘Every time I came to, there was different guy on top of me,’” he told court.

Under cross-examination by defence counsel Lauren Wilhelm, who represents another defendant, the witness said the complainant often gets emotional when she drinks alcohol to excess.

“She gets verbal,” he said, adding her emotions can range from happiness or anger to sadness.

The trial continues today before Judge Fergus O’Donnell.