A girl testified Thursday {that a} lawyer she had met at a Vancouver bar later sexually assaulted her in a lodge room.
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A Vancouver girl testified Thursday that she was sexually assaulted by a lawyer in a lodge room after she had met him in a bar earlier within the night.
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The girl, who can’t be recognized as a consequence of a publication ban, was giving proof on the trial of Robert Zeunert, who has pleaded not responsible to the felony offence.
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She advised a B.C. Supreme Court docket jury that she had gone to the Railway Membership in Downtown Vancouver after work to have some drinks with colleagues on Feb. 18, 2020.
The complainant described how she had quite a few drinks, together with cider and wine-based cocktails, through the course of what turned out to be about a number of hours on the bar.
She stated she and the others along with her have been consuming and “blowing off steam” and received right into a heated debate with some males who have been seated close by.
The complainant stated she was “very drunk” and received right into a dialog with the accused, who advised her he had labored as a Crown prosecutor and was a lawyer who labored within the northern B.C. group of Fort St. John.
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She stated she didn’t recall when she and the accused left the bar, had hassle recalling occasions, and her subsequent reminiscence was of being outdoors and smoking a cigarette, dealing with the membership.
Her subsequent reminiscence was of standing on a nook close to Georgia Avenue, close to the Vancouver Resort, and having problem standing on her toes, she stated.
She stated she remembered going via the Resort Vancouver and popping out onto Burrard Avenue.
Court docket heard that the alleged sexual assault occurred within the Sutton Place Resort on Burrard.
The complainant stated she recalled getting into a lodge elevator however didn’t bear in mind who pressed the button. She stated she remembered the accused opened the lodge room door.
After going into the lodge room, she stated she dropped her bag and her coat after which flopped face-down on the mattress, “like a ton of bricks.”
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She stated she didn’t recall whether or not she truly stated the phrases however it felt like an “oh, f—okay second” and she or he puzzled whether or not she was secure.
The complainant advised the jury that she couldn’t recall the precise order of occasions of the night.
She stated she awoke within the mattress along with her pants and underwear having been taken off and the accused between her legs and performing oral intercourse on her.
The accused at one level additionally was subsequent to her and attempting to grope or contact her chest, she stated.
Requested by Crown counsel Phillip Sebellin as as to whether she had consented to sexual contact, she stated: “Completely not.”
When she awoke within the morning, she stated she felt “horrified” as she appeared over and noticed a unadorned man, the accused, within the mattress beside her.
She stated she simply wished to get out of the lodge room and received dressed to go away.
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The accused awoke and requested her if she wished to see him once more and handed her his enterprise card earlier than she left, she added.
Underneath cross-examination by Zeunert’s lawyer, Richard Gibbs, she agreed that the accused was a stranger to her on the time.
Gibbs took her via a number of video clips of her and the accused seated on the bar.
She stated she couldn’t recall a lot of any dialog between the 2 of them as she was very drunk.
Gibbs pointed to 1 clip the place she was reaching out to the accused’s brow and one other the place the accused had his hand on her shoulder and was leaning in and talking to her.
“What was occurring?” stated Gibbs.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
The trial continues.
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