It was worth a shot, but Toronto Councillor Michael Thompson has lost his bid to remove the prosecutor and throw out one of the two sexual assault charges he faces at his ongoing Bracebridge trial.
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Two women, their identities protected by a publication ban, have alleged Thompson sexually assaulted them after inviting them to spend the 2022 Canada Day long weekend at a ritzy Port Carling cottage.
Last month, defence lawyer Leora Shemesh asked Ontario Court Justice Philop Brissette to stay the charge or remove Crown attorney Mareike Newhouse as a remedy for her alleged misconduct of disclosing a witness’ photos to one of the two complainants before her testimony.
It happened after the female witness — who is not one of the accusers — was asked in cross-examination about two photos she’d taken on her cellphone that weekend of the two complainants on the cottage dock, which the defence alleged showed the women looking comfortable and having a good time.
The first complainant was next to testify but in an “impromptu meeting” before she took the stand, the Crown showed her the woman’s photos and asked if that was her in the pictures.
Shemesh argued the move violated the witness exclusion order which prevents a witness from learning of any evidence or testimony made by others in the trial and her client’s Charter right to a fair trial had now been compromised. Newhouse argued it was a frivolous complaint, and she was just preparing her witness.
In his oral ruling Wednesday, the judge agreed the Crown had breached the “spirit” of his order by showing the photos as a “heads up” to the complainant. But he found it “does not warrant” a stay or her removal.
So unfortunately for the beleaguered councillor, the charges and the Crown remain as is.
At the opening of Thompson’s judge-alone trial last month, the prosecutor alleged the six-term Scarborough Centre councillor lured the women to the luxury Muskoka cottage with promises of mentorship and networking opportunities but instead, preyed on them after plying them with marijuana and alcohol.
The Crown alleged he touched one woman sexually during a massage and “forced” a non-consensual sex act upon a second in the middle of the night, despite her being heavily intoxicated and telling him “no”
Thompson, 64, has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
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The first witness described a weekend that was far from what she’d expected when Thompson invited her to the cottage; instead of networking, she told the court the councillor wanted to demonstrate the bounciness of his bed, urged the women to drink shots and twice allegedly told her to “feel free to get naked.”
Then the first complainant finally took the stand in the second week of the trial. She testified Thompson had invited her to what she assumed was a small networking get together at the cottage but was surprised when she and her friend — the other accuser in the case — showed up on the Sunday to find only one other woman there.
While they were on the dock, she alleged the politician asked to apply sunscreen on her back and then touched her buttocks and breast under her swimsuit after she felt she couldn’t say no.
She didn’t leave the cottage because she said she was too intoxicated, alleging Thompson had given them alcohol and marijuana as soon as they arrived.
Last month, Thompson resigned from the city’s high profile FIFA committee. His spokesman said the Scarborough politician is “tied up in legal proceedings and a court case that has no definitive end date.”
The trial continues Dec. 4.