Developmentally delayed woman says offender forced himself on her

A developmentally delayed Calgary woman testified Monday that serial sex offender John David Lashbrook forced himself on her.

But under cross-examination by Lashbrook's lawyer, the woman said she wanted to have sex with him, but was only worried about hurting the accused's then-girlfriend's feelings.

The woman, who can't be named, told defence counsel Adriano Iovinelli her biggest concern was how Lashbrook's girlfriend would react to them having sex.

But she also denied suggestions by Iovinelli that she either told Lashbrook that day in October 2019 that she wanted to have sex with him, or told him she wanted to “have fun.”

Lashbrook, 64, faces two charges of sexual assault involving two separate complainants, along with two allegations of breaching his long-term offender order by having relationships with the two women.

The witness's evidence in chief was put in by Crown prosecutor Aleksandra Simic, who played a video-recorded interview the woman gave with a Calgary police detective shortly after her encounter with Lashbrook.

The witness then adopted that statement on the witness stand.

Under the Criminal Code, the Crown can utilize a previously recorded statement as evidence for a witness who is mentally or physically disabled, if the witness adopts the interview as true.

In the interview, the woman said Lashbrook came over to her northwest Calgary basement suite and indicated he wanted to have sex with her, but she refused because he was dating another woman.

Despite her objections, he proceeded to her bedroom where they had intercourse, she told the detective.

In 2008, a Saskatchewan judge declined a Crown application to have Lashbrook declared a dangerous offender, which could have seen him locked up indefinitely.

But the judge found Lashbrook met the qualifications for a long-offender designation and ordered him to be under community supervision for 10 years once he had completed a three-year prison term for his latest crime.

His sexual criminal history includes assaults on adults and children, including the abuse of five Calgary children in a one-month period in 1992.

Lashbrook's sexual criminal history includes assaults on adults and children, including the abuse of five children in one month in 1992.

He was acquitted in 2013 of an allegation he violated his longterm offender order a year earlier for illegally being in contact with children.

Lashbrook was accused of having unsupervised contact with minors for allegedly obsessing over young female dancers at a Golden Age Club event put on by the Calgary Roughnecks cheerleaders.

Lashbrook testified he was at the club for a darts tournament and was focusing on the competition, not the young girls.

The second alleged victim is scheduled to testify in the case Tuesday.