Toronto councillor's lawyer asks court to remove Crown in sexual assault case, alleging misconduct

WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.

Toronto Coun. Michael Thompson's lawyer has asked an Ontario court to stay his sexual assault trial and remove the Crown attorney over alleged misconduct, an accusation the Crown called "frivolous" and a "thinly veiled" attempt to delay proceedings.

Thompson stands accused of two counts of sexual assault for alleged incidents that happened between him and two separate women at a Muskoka cottage in 2022.

On Monday, the fourth day of the trial in Bracebridge, Ont., the court in the judge-only trial heard from one of the complainants for the first time. The 35-year-old woman was called to the stand as a Crown witness.

The names of the complainants and the Crown's first witness, who took the stand last week, are protected under a publication ban.

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But before the complainant entered the courtroom to take the stand, defence lawyer Leora Shemesh told the court she believed the Crown may have broken court orders. She said the Crown had tainted the witness's testimony by showing her photos that may come up in trial before she testified.

Shemesh said the witness should not have been shown the photos before her testimony, and the Crown was threatening Thompson's right to a fair trial.

Crown prosecutor Mareike Newhouse said she was simply preparing her witness, saying that was her legal duty.

The complainant was then allowed to take the stand for questioning from the Crown, but the defence would pick up the issue afterward.

'I didn't feel like I had another choice': complainant testifies

During questioning from the Crown, the complainantalleged that during a small gathering at a Muskoka cottage over Canada Day weekend in 2022, which she had believed would be a networking opportunity, Thompson touched her buttocks and breasts under her bathing suit after applying sunscreen to her back.

The complainant said she met Thompson through a professional acquaintance after an art show in Yorkville in the spring of 2022. They met again before the summer at the collision convention in Toronto, she said, after which Thompson drove her and another person home, inviting the complainant to a small gathering of professionals at a Muskoka cottage for the Canada Day long weekend.

The complainant said she eventually accepted, but by then she was only available Sunday. So she said sheasked if she could bring a friend, since she couldn't drive herself and wanted to have another person she knew at the cottage. Thompson said yes, so she and her friend, the other complainant in the case, drove up Sunday, she said.

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They arrived around noon and only saw one car in the driveway when they arrived, the complainant said.

"I thought, this is really odd," she said.

The two women found only two people at the cottage, she said, Thompson and a young woman. That woman, now 24, was the first witness to testify in the trial.

Thompson immediately offered them drinks, the complainant said, and the group did a round of shots and a round of mixed-drinks. Thompson then asked the new arrivals what they liked to drink, and when they told him tequila, he said he would drive to the liquor store and buy a bottle, she said.

"It just seemed very important to him that we have drinks," the complainant said.

Thompson left the women on the dock for most of the afternoon, she said, returning intermittently to check in. At one point, the complainantsaid Thompson asked if he could apply sunscreen to her back.

She said she agreed, though she felt uncomfortable, not wanting to make a scene. She said Thompson than asked if it was OK that he touched her under her bathing suit, after he had already reached under her clothing.

She said she felt uncomfortable, but was "very intoxicated" and she felt she couldn't say no.

"I didn't feel like I had another choice to navigate the situation," she said.

She said her friend was also drunk at that point, so they were unable to drive away afterward. Instead, they stayed the night and leftthe next morning, she said. The complainant said she had no contact with Thompson after the weekend, though he tried to call her multiple times in the days after.

Defence alleges Crown misconduct; cross-examination delayed

In a brief cross-examination, defence lawyer Shemesh asked a few questions about the complainant's meeting with the Crown, when she was shown the photos that had been introduced in court last week.

Shemesh then said she couldn't continue cross-examination. After the witness left the room, Shemesh said the Crown attorney should be removed from the case, alleging misconduct. She also asked the court to stay proceedings in the meantime.

"We have very strong concerns about the conduct thus far," she said. "I am concerned what more will be given to [the complainant]."

The Crown argued that it was simply preparing its witness, saying they're entitled to that.

Newhouse called the accusation "manifestly frivolous," sayingit was a "thinly veiled attempt" to delay proceedings. She said it had been logistically difficult to get the witness to court from a distance, and any delay would make it harder to get her back. She said the court should dismiss Shemesh's request then and there.

"There's no reason this cross-examination should not continue," Newhouse said.

But Justice Philop Brissette said he had to let the defence file an application to remove her from the case.

The court will consider and decide on the defence's formal application before the trial resumes Friday.

Outside the courtroom, Newhouse declined to comment on the application. Shemesh also refused to say more about her concerns when CBC Toronto asked why she wanted the Crown attorney off the case.