Alleged rapist physically unable to commit the crimes, lawyer says
The lawyer defending an alleged choker-rapist told a jury on Thursday that Jacques Rouschop couldn’t physically have committed the vicious sex crimes he’s accused of because his hernia “makes it too painful to have sex from behind, his stomach is too large and his penis is way, way too small.”
The first defence witness, a registered nurse, testified that she volunteered to take Rouschop’s measurements. She testified that Rouschop is 5-foot-6, with a 66inch waist, 31-inch thighs, and a one-inch penis, measuring about two inches when erect. The nurse also measured his umbilical hernia, saying it was 3.5 inches by 3.25 inches. There is no way of knowing his exact weight because the scales at the Innes Road jail only go up to 320 pounds.
The court was also shown photographs of a naked Rouschop, who sat statue-still in the prisoner’s dock as some jurors took notes about his most intimate measurements.
Rouschop, a 44-year-old career thief, is on trial for the alleged rape and choking in 2013 of two Vanier woman. Both were sex workers, and as Crown witnesses gave horrifying accounts of being attacked and choked until they blacked out in the back seat of Rouschop’s pickup truck in an unknown industrial lot.
Rouschop has pleaded not guilty, and on Thursday, his lawyer, Natasha Calvinho, launched his defence. In her opening statements to the jury, Calvinho was quick to acknowledge that Rouschop has a criminal record that stretches four decades.
“He is far from a perfect man. He has made mistakes. He has committed crimes. He has spent time in jail and has a significant criminal record. He is known to local police and is someone who has been in and out of jail most of his adult life,” Calvinho told the jury.
But she said Rouschop couldn’t have committed the crimes as described in court because of his physical limitations.
The lawyer then addressed the elephant in the room.
“Due to his weight (around 400 pounds at the time) and his appearance, he will be the first to tell you that he has had a lot of trouble attracting members of the opposite sex, and that getting a woman’s attention, let alone having sex, was not something that happened very often for him.
“Despite his lack of physical attractiveness, he still had needs — sexual needs. And he turned to the services of sex trade workers,” Calvinho said.
The defence lawyer tried to portray Rouschop as more than a john, telling the jury that he cared about the Vanier sex trade workers, drove them around, bought them groceries, and “helped them any way he could.”
The lawyer said that in the case of one of the complainants, it went far beyond a money-for-sex relationship. “He cared for her. He brought her to his home for sleepovers and dinners with his mom,” she said.
The lawyer also told the jury that Rouschop believes Ottawa detectives investigating the unsolved 2013 killing of sex trade worker Amy Paul targeted him because they suspected he killed her.
“He believes he is the subject of a witch hunt,” Calvinho told the jury.
The jury has heard that detectives working the Paul case went to great lengths to successfully secure formal statements from the sex trade workers against Rouschop. The charges — two counts of aggravated sexual assault and choking — that Rouschop is on trial for now were yielded from the investigation into Paul’s killing, which remains unsolved. Ottawa police publicly linked Rouschop to Paul’s homicide in December 2013 but have never charged him. They also searched his home for Paul’s shoes, pants and cellphone, according to records obtained by the Citizen.
Rouschop was charged with rape and choking less than 24 hours after Ottawa police announced a $50,000 reward in the unsolved Paul homicide investigation in December 2013. Both women in this case testified that they didn’t initially want to come forward but did so after being strongly urged to by police, court has heard. They also testified that they didn’t come forward because of the reward, which remains unclaimed.