Teen testifies about forced sexual activity

Alleged victim says in interview that three males took turns assaulting her

After being brutally sexually assaulted by three Calgary males, a teenage girl was forced to perform one more sexual act to get a ride home, court heard Thursday.

The complainant, who can’t be identified, gave testimony at the Court of Queen’s Bench trial of two accused.

Much of her evidence was produced by Crown prosecutor Pam McCluskey in a videotaped interview the then-17-year-old had with a police detective.

In it, the girl explained how she was taken to the home of the third male, then a youth, on Dec. 28, 2016, after agreeing to hang out with one of the accused.

There she said she was sexually attacked by the trio, who took turns assaulting her, she said in the police interview.

“Is that your evidence today as to what happened on Dec. 28 and 29, 2016?” McCluskey asked after the video ended.

“Yes,” the witness said. Adham El-Sakaan and Timothy Fanning, both 21, each face charges of sexual assault and sexual assault with a weapon in connection with the incident.

A youth pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 12 months custody followed by a year’s probation.

In her statement, the complainant said she was “forced” into the youth’s car when Fanning showed up at her home after they had been texting back and forth.

But she said in her testimony she believed she could have walked away after she was “pushed” into the vehicle and driven to the youth’s home.

During the playing of the video, the complainant, who testified via video link from a remote room, often buried her face in her hands, or wrapped herself in a shawl, leading McCluskey to pause the recording at one point.

“I see you’ve pulled your scarf over your eyes, are you OK?” the prosecutor asked.

“Yes,” the witness said.

At that point in the police interview, she described crying during the incident.

“I started to cry and then they, like, slowed down and then they realized I was crying and they stopped,” she told the detective.

“I told them what was wrong … I told them you’re really, really hurting me,” she said.

“Adham was like ‘OK, I won’t be so rough.’”

The assault then continued, she said. “Did you in your mind want that sexual activity to take place?” McCluskey asked.

“No, I did not,” the witness said. Under cross-examination, defence lawyer Balfour Der suggested that while texting with Fanning he told her the other two would be joining them and she replied: “Fun, bring them along.”

“I did not say that … I did not say ‘fun, bring them along,’” she said.

Earlier, Justice Scott Brooker was shown three videos of the incident that police lifted from the three males’ cellphones.

The audio portion of the video, in which the complainant could be heard crying, was played in court.