Man convicted of sexual assault

A Bridgewater provincial court judge has convicted a resident of Mexico of sexually assaulting a woman on the South Shore.

In a decision delivered earlier this month and released by the courts Tuesday, Judge Paul Scovil convicted Gerardo Santiago Morales of a single count of sexual assault.

Santiago Morales was working in the Christmas tree industry in Lunenburg County last year when he and several co-workers went to a gathering at a home in the area.

A woman who lived in the home testified that she went to bed in her room at about midnight, while several other people continued to socialize. She said she saw Santiago Morales sleeping in a chair at the time.

She said she awoke in her bed to find Santiago Morales using his finger to sexually assault her. She told him to get out, and said he at that point said he was sorry. She yelled for help and went to the main living area of the home, where she saw another man passed out on a couch.

Santiago Morales followed her from her room and then went into a bedroom where one of his co-workers was sleeping and tried to wake him so they could leave the home.

The victim contacted her cousin to come help her, and the next day called police at the urging of her mother.

The co-worker who left with Santiago Morales, Gorges Garaacuaro-Becerra testified he was awakened by Santiago Morales, who told him that he had “moved” a person and that he thought it was GaraacuaroBecerra.

Santiago Morales testified that he drank seven beer before heading to the gathering, and had both tequila and whiskey when he was there. He said he was intoxicated, but not enough to lose consciousness.

He said he asked his friend several times to leave because he had to go to work in the morning and also asked another man, but that person refused to drive because he was drunk.

Santiago Morales testified that he fell asleep in the chair, and later awoke and wanted to go home, so he went into a bedroom and moved a “bundle” on a bed thinking it was his friend, but that the victim looked at him and told him to get out of the house.

Under cross-examination, Santiago Morales said he wasn't sure if he touched skin or fabric when he woke the victim.

Judge Paul Scovil said credibility was key in the trial.

“I do not accept his evidence relating to the assault, nor does it raise a reasonable doubt,” Scovil said in the decision.

He said the amount of alcohol Santiago Morales drank that evening “leaves me to find that Mr. Santiago Morales was quite intoxicated. This would affect his perception and his judgment during the course of the evening in question.”

The judge also said that it was “remarkable” that Santiago Morales had no clear recollection of whether he touched skin or fabric despite accused of sexually touching her within minutes.

“Given that, I find Mr. Santiago Morales was either failing to testify to the truth of what happened or in the alternative unable to adequately remember what had occurred to the extent such as to give credence to his denials," the judge said.

“The story recounted by Mr.

Santiago Morales simply is not believable,” the judge continued.

Scovil said that inconsistencies in the victim's testimony identified by the defence were insignificant or minor and didn't detract from her testimony about the sexual assault itself.

“Nothing in (her) evidence affected the clear and concise description of being digitally penetrated in her vagina by Mr. Santiago Morales,” Scovil said. “I am left in no doubt that this is exactly what occurred.”

Sentencing will occur at a later date.