Alleged victim vowed to oust fire chief, trial hears

One of the women a former chief of the Fort St. James fire department is accused of sexually assaulting allegedly vowed to “have his job,” the court heard Friday. Called to the stand by counsel representing Robert Harold Bennett, Paul Broen said Kirsten Rudolph uttered the words in the fall of 2010 when she and her partner, Phil Smith, had dropped by his home to pick up a work-related item from Broen’s wife.

Broen is the president of Fort St. James Search and Rescue and, at the time, the group had to share space at the fire hall and, on occasion, he said the arrangement would lead to conflicts between him and Bennett.

Broen said his wife and another couple were talking about a pending trip to Las Vegas when Rudolph and Smith showed up. They were invited into the home’s dining room and introduced to the other couple.

Magnus said she did not know who Rudolph was when they first met and took her story to Bennett’s lawyers – Jason and Dave Tarnow – when she learned a second trial was to be held on the matter.

Broen said the conversation turned to the fire department and one of the “head buttings” he had with Bennett over a minor issue.

“All of a sudden Kristen [sic] says ‘I hate that fuckin’ Rob Bennett, I’ll have his job,’” Broen said.

Broen said the comment left him stunned given the tenor of the conversation. In response, one of the other women said something to the effect that Rudolph’s comment was “pretty harsh,” Broen testified.

“And the reply (from Rudolph) was ‘just watch me, a couple years, two or three years,’ something like that,” Broen continued.

Broen said the comment made him uncomfortable and he worked to quickly switch to another topic.

“We live in a small town, that’s huge (to say something like that),” Broen said.

On Thursday, Carol Magnus, one of the other women who was at the home, also testified that Rudolph made the comment. Like Broen, she referred to Rudolph as Kristen rather than Kirsten.

Magnus said the visit occurred in fall 2011 or spring 2012.

Magnus said she did not know who Rudolph was when they first met and took her story to Bennett’s lawyers – Jason and Dave Tarnow – when she learned a second trial was to be held on the matter. Magnus disagreed with Crown prosecution’s suggestion that only Smith had entered the home.

The court also heard Friday from a series of witnesses who testified to Bennett’s good character. He was variously described as dedicated, hard working and a valued member of the community.

Two of the witnesses were women who were volunteer firefighters. However, they were no longer with the fire department by the time Bennett’s trouble with alcohol began to become apparent, according to other testimony.

Much of the case against Bennett hinges on an alleged incident in July 2013 when he allegedly reached around from behind and grabbed Rudolph’s breasts as she was sitting in the main fire hall’s common room.

Called by defence counsel, Ricardo De Beurs disputed the allegation, saying Bennett only put his hands on her shoulders before leaning in and saying something. Bennett then backed off after one of the other firefighters told him “that’s enough” and then left the room.

De Beurs said he was sitting about 15 feet away and talking to some other fire- fighters when he “panned over” and saw Bennett’s actions.

Under cross-examination, he conceded Rudolph had been sitting with her back to him.

Both Crown and defence have now finished calling their witnesses. The sides will give closing statements to the sevenman, five-woman jury hearing the case on Monday.