Testimony continues today in the trial of a former Central Alberta man accused of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter on at least four occasions, starting when she was a toddler.
The 39-year-old man, whose name is withheld to protect the identity of his alleged victim, is charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, sexual touching and inviting sexual touching dating back to April 1, 2001, two months before her fourth birthday.
Now 15, the girl testified from behind a screen before Justice Keith Yamauchi in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench, describing actions that took place during a family camping trip in July 2011 and again at the family home in a small Central Alberta town on the evening and following morning of Aug. 24 and 25, 2011.
Questioned by Crown prosecutor Robin Snider, she said she doesn’t recall the first incident nor does she remember how she learned about it.
She also described being assaulted in the middle of the afternoon on a camping trip, when her mother had gone home sick.
She said her stepfather told her to take a nap in the trailer and that she should take her clothes off before getting into the bed he shared with her mother.
Her younger sister, also feeling sick, was already asleep in a bunk bed at the back of the trailer, where both girls would normally spend the night.
She then described a second incident that started at about midnight on Aug. 24, 2011, when she and her sister had both gone to bed.
They were sharing a room because her little sister’s room was being painted.
The girl said her stepfather got into her bed and was touching her private area when they heard her mother “shuffling” down the hall.
He got up and was standing behind the door when the mother entered the room, saying she had come to check on the dog.
The girl testified that her stepfather said he was also checking on the dog, which was supposed to be kept in a kennel between the girls’ beds.
The girl said she was assaulted again on the following morning, after her mother went to work.
Innisfail RCMP were called to investigate when the girl went to her mother’s office and told her what had happened.
The mother asked her to write it down and they then drove to Innisfail, where they gave statements to Const. Andrew Cyril John Methven.
Taking the stand on Tuesday, Methven described going to the family home and arresting the stepfather, who was asleep in the master bedroom.
He confirmed photographing the scene and gathering evidence, which was forwarded to a lab in Edmonton for forensic testing. Methven also confirmed collecting evidence from a sexual assault examination performed in Calgary later that day.
Scheduled to take four days, the trial was to resume this morning with the alleged victim returning to the stand for cross-examination by defence counsel Kevin Sproule.
The cross examination had been adjourned to today to allow for testimony from Methven, who was available on Tuesday only.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com