
Complainant in hockey players’ sex assault case can’t be judged on assumptions: Crown
LONDON — The actions of a woman who accused five hockey players of sexual assault should not be assessed based on what others believe she should have done that night, nor should her demeanour at trial be scrutinized based on myths about how an “ideal victim” behaves, prosecutors in the trial argued Thursday.
In her final pitch to the judge, prosecutor Meaghan Cunningham argued many of the submissions made by the defence regarding the woman’s account and her credibility require judging her behaviour based on assumptions about how someone in her situation would act.
Defence lawyers have argued that the idea that someone would invite everyone in a room to have sex as a way to get out of a frightening situation is “preposterous,” and that the complainant appeared rehearsed in her testimony. They argued she came to court with an “agenda.”
Offering sex can be a form of appeasement and a normal response in a “highly stressful, unpredictable event,” Cunningham argued Thursday.