Man denies teen’s sex assault claims

34-year-old South Okanagan man accused of sexually assaulting stepson’s teenage girlfriend in 2016

The South Okanagan man accused of sexually assaulting his stepson’s 15-year-old girlfriend in 2016 flatly denied the charges Wednesday. The 34-year-old man, whose name is protected by a publication ban meant to shield the identity of the complainant, pleaded not guilty to three charges on the first day of trial Tuesday in B.C. Supreme Court in Penticton.

He testified in his own defence that text messages between himself and the girl began out of necessity after his common-law wife at the time had blocked the man’s number from her son’s phone.

The former common-law wife “was difficult to communicate with,” the accused explained.

“She was even jealous of my relationship with (her son), making it so that I couldn’t even communicate with him,” he testified.

His ex-wife would be angry at the closeness he shared with her son, he said, adding she may be bi-polar. This resulted in the accused texting her son’s girlfriend, the complainant, to find out where his younger daughter would be after school.

The accused and the complainant would engage in “mutual venting” about his exwife, he said.

Crown counsel Ann Lerchs questioned why he would text message with his stepson’s teenage girlfriend to talk about his relationship with his wife, asking if he thought it seemed appropriate.

“It doesn’t now, but at the time it didn’t seem bad,” the man responded.

“Like I said, she was the one who was venting to me. Me venting back, it seemed like mutual venting. So it didn’t seem that out of the ordinary.”

The complainant testified Tuesday that the accused had driven her from a South Okanagan rural community to Penticton to purchase marijuana prior to being sexually assaulted in the man’s vehicle upon their return.

The accused said the trip “never happened.” He said he was taken aback when the girl did ask to purchase marijuana from him on one occasion.

The girl also recounted a second incident of sexual assault, which she said occurred while the accused was giving her a ride to school after missing the bus. The man said he did give her a ride so she could make a lunch date with his stepson, but denied the sexual allegations.

Lerchs asked the man about a text message argument between himself and the complainant, which the man acknowledged had happened.

“What is there for you and (the girl) to argue about?” Lerchs said.

He said he was “having a bad day” and the girl had been “rude.”

“She said she was going to burn me or something, she was telling me how she had my life in the palm of her hands and she was going to fry me,” the man said.

“I assumed she was talking about the weed stuff and she was asking me to buy her weed. I assumed she was going to tell everyone I had sold her this weed.”

The defence has wrapped up its case. Lerchs and defence counsel Paul Varga are expected to make their closing submissions today.