Sexual assault trial of former Canadian radio host begins

Ghomeshi, who used to host CBC Radio’s popular culture show “Q”, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault – two of which relate to the woman who is testifying – and one count of overcoming resistance by choking. He is the former host of “Q”, a popular radio show on culture heard on many public stations in the U.S.

Ghomeshi has pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking. On the same day Ghomeshi issues a lengthy Facebook post saying he has engaged in rough sex, but says it was always consensual.

The first witness in the Jian Ghomeshi trial is finished on the stand after being cross-examined by the lawyer for the disgraced radio host for a second day. In December 2002, he pulled her hair while they were kissing in his auto, and in January 2003 he “violently” punched her three times in the head at his Riverdale home, she said.

Jan 8, 2015: Three new charges of sexual assault are laid against Ghomeshi.

Ghomeshi’s lawyer, Marie 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 alleged incidents. He is being tried by judge alone. The Star said Ghomeshi, his lawyers and public relations staff had not responded to allegations in their latest report. She said that she never saw or spoke to Ghomeshi again, and that she was too distraught to watch him on TV or listen to his radio show.

Adding to the hard nature of the case, Decoutere allegedly did not tell Ghomeshi to stop and it was not until after she started to make a distinct facial expression, that he then proceeded to stop. “I was surprised by how violent the allegations against him were”, stated Jim Hounslow, an employee of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and one of several of Ghomeshi’s accusers, told the Guardian.

Peter Rosenthal, adjunct professor of law at the University of Toronto, said the discrepancies could pile up against the witness. He has denied the charges and said that they were all consensual as they were having “rough sex”.

“I wanted to be supportive, to encourage others to come out”, Hounslow told The Guardian.

“The question of previous inconsistent statements may or may not be a serious problem for a witness, if the judge [uses them] to judge the witnesses’ overall credibility”, Rosenthal said. He is facing an additional count of sexual assault that will be tried separately in June.

“To state the obvious, this trial has attracted an extraordinary amount of media attention”, Horkins said as proceedings got underway Monday. The complainant next remembered starting to cry, according to her testimony, which prompted Ghomeshi to ask her to leave.

Henein’s approach is “not surprising”, said Lisa Ridgedale, a former Crown attorney turned defence lawyer in British Columbia.

In a key moment, Henein read out chatty emails between the witness and Ghomeshi that the witness sent after she said Ghomeshi beat her on the head and she cut off all contact with him.