Graphic testimony kicks off sex assault trial of Canada radio star

The former CBC host’s file is the latest in a series of high-profile cases that have earned Marie Henein a reputation as a clever and tireless defence lawyer who leaves no stone unturned in preparing for trial, said Jonathan Rosenthal, a Toronto criminal lawyer.

Former CBC Radio Host Jian Ghomeshi stepped in to his first day of trail for sexual assault Monday morning in Toronto. Ghomeshi has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and opted for a trial before a judge and no jury.

The woman, who can’t be identified due to a publication ban told police that her head hit the vehicle seat during the first alleged assault by Ghomeshi but told the court that her head was smashed against a window.

After a lunch break Ghomeshi’s defense lawyer, Marie Henein, began her cross-examination.

The woman said the emails were the only way she could get Ghomeshi to contact her, so she could ask him about the alleged assault.

Ms. Henein then showed the court another e-mail – which the witness acknowledged was “flirtatious” – in which the witness said to Mr. Ghomeshi, “Hi, Jian, I’ve been watching you on Screw The Vote” – a one-time CBC special that aired in May, 2004.

Henein, known for her take-no-prisoners style, elicited from the witness that police interviewed her only once for about an hour before charging him over the two alleged incidents.

Instead, much of the process is simply getting the witness ready to deal with the stress of being in the spotlight and having someone challenge their recollections, she said.

October 26, 2014: The CBC announces it has cut ties with Ghomeshi, the host of the radio program “Q”, after receiving “information” about him.

“You’re calling him a playboy, the gentleman you say you’re trying to get away from, whose voice and image on TV retraumatizes you?” “I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I have had a chance to tell my story openly”.

Crown attorneys also don’t have the benefit of disclosure and would not know, for example, that the defence had the emails sent from the complainant to Ghomeshi. “It was that one incident that I’d had”, she said of the first hair-pulling. On the first day of the trial in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on Monday, the woman testified that Ghomeshi had twice pulled her hair and on one occasion punched her in the head multiple times after they started kissing at his home.

Toronto police charged him after several women came forward with sexual assault complaints that allegedly occurred over several years. “That was the photo I deliberately chose so I could give it to him so he would maybe phone me”. Henein challenged her. “Are you prepared to admit that you have lied under oath?”

“He didn’t apologize, he didn’t ask if I was OK”, she testified.

“My personal view is that every complainant in any case should have access to legal counsel if they choose”, the complainant’s lawyer, Jacob Jesin, said Tuesday.

Her turn in the witness box over Tuesday, the first complainant issued a statement through her lawyer, Jake Jesin. He is facing an additional count of sexual assault that will be tried separately in June.