Jurors in nightclub owner's sexual assault trial urged to 'apply your common sense to the evidence'

Jurors in the Skipp Anderson sexual assault trial will begin wrestling with the notion of "consent" when they begin deliberating later Thursday.

The Crown and defence completed their final arguments Thursday morning. Both prosecutor Tamara Rock and defence lawyer Brad Mitchell focused on what happened in Anderson's house in the early hours of July 11, 2016.

It's alleged that's when Anderson, the owner of Saskatoon's Pink Lounge and Nightclub,sexually assaulted a young man who had passed out after a hot tub party.

"What happened in that bedroom? Consensual sex happened, between two friends," Mitchell said.

Rock urged jurors to apply common sense and their own life experiences to the evidence.

"Don't believe a fairy-tale version of going from extreme drunkenness to consensual sex," said Rock.

"Apply your common sense to the evidence."

The facts

What's known is that Anderson and the alleged victim were part of a larger group of friends who socialized frequently. They went to movies, dinners, bowling, on vacation and clubbing together.

On the night in question, the group had gone to a movie and then returned to Anderson's house for a hot tub party. No one disputed that the alleged victim became so drunk that he had to be taken from the hot tub for fear he would pass out and drown.

He was taken to a spare room and left to sleep it off.

The stories diverge over what happened after that.

Assault or consensual sex?

The alleged victim said he woke up in the middle of the night to find Anderson having sexual intercourse with him. He asked Anderson to stop, and he did. The alleged victim said that he never intended to have sex, nor did he consent when it happened.

Anderson said that he had crawled into bed with the man because he was single and lonely and that he only wanted to "snuggle." However, he said the man initiated sexual activity, and consented all the way through.

Mitchell suggested the victim later felt embarrassedfor having slept with a close friend and, ratherthan face teasing from the group, accused Anderson of sexual assault.

Rock said that was "SkippAnderson's fantasy of what happened."

Justice Ron Mills will give his instructions to the jury and then they will be sequestered for deliberations.