Private hearing over new evidence at Ghomeshi trial

The trial of Jian Ghomeshi, the disgraced former broadcaster accused of sexual assault, will continue today.

The 48-year-old former CBC Radio star has pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault, and one count of overcome resistance by choking.

Despite the judge’s orders, the woman said she caught the tail end of a Ghomeshi story on CBC radio and chose to reveal several emails between her and the former CBC host to police.

It could also help the Crown challenge defence allegations of collusion stemming from messages between DeCoutere and the third complainant, whose name is under publication ban, he said.

She said she was embarrassed, and didn’t think it was relevant to the investigation. “I’m telling you that, when I went, I had a day to sit with things, with memories, and I was nervous, and if I had done this interview a week, two weeks later, it would probably have had much more detail”.

Ghomeshi, who first gained fame as a member of the 1990s satirical pop band Moxy Fruvous, previously defended himself in a 1,500-word statement on Facebook, saying women consented to having “rough sex” with him and that he was the victim of a disgruntled ex-girlfriend.

The trial heard that days after the alleged assault in the park, the woman went out for dinner and drinks with Ghomeshi, and then they went back to her home where she pleasured him with her hand.

The woman’s testimony Monday followed a closed-door hearing requested by Ghomeshi’s lawyer, who said the complainant gave a statement to police on Friday that was not fully disclosed to the defence until Sunday.

By this point there were “warning bells” she said, but the final “bell” came at another party in Parkdale, when Ghomeshi told her that her best friend was manipulative, controlling and did not have her best interests at heart.

Do you agree you were being deliberately misleading to police, Ghomeshi’s lawyer asked.

The witness also told the court that she became friends with fellow complainant Lucy DeCoutere, in 2014, but that they never spoke about the allegations.

Up until last Friday, this was all she ever said about that night – and that since the alleged choking, she had always kept her distance from Ghomeshi.

Over the years she has had “cordial” interactions with Ghomeshi at Canadian arts events that come with being part of the community.

In another message she sent to the Trailer Park Boys actress, the witness said, “I want so badly for the piece of sh** to pay for what he’s done”.

The trial first heard that the woman didn’t contact Ghomeshi after the alleged assaults, save for perhaps writing him an angry email, which she said she may or may not have sent.

“We weren’t”, the woman told court on Monday.