Woman accuses ‘charming’ Ghomeshi of sudden ‘rage;’ faces tough grilling

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.

Hammering away at seemingly minor details in a woman’s account of her interactions with Jian Ghomeshi may seem harsh to members of the public, but a former prosecutor says it’s a classic defence strategy meant to erode the witness’s credibility. She says Ghomeshi pulled her hair in a auto once but that she willingly saw him again and went back to his home, where he assaulted her.

At times, the witness appeared flustered as Henein grilled her, but continued to insist she had not lied – that she had only gradually come to remember things.

Ghomeshi 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.

There was the matter of whether the witness was wearing hair extensions in 2002 (an issue that took 15 minutes to sort out), and whether it was she or Ghomeshi who was “smitten” (her friend had given testimony that the witness was the keen one).

“If witnesses have given interviews or witnesses have talked about cases, there’s going to be more than one statement out there or possibly more than one version of what the witnesses have said”, he said.

“It was bait to call me so I could get an explanation as to why he would violently punch me in the head”, she told the court.

“I really liked him”. In her testimony on Monday, she said that he pulled her hair, but did not say that he smashed her head. “I did want to see him again”.

Attorney Marie Henein said that in the victim’s interviewed with the Toronto Star and CBC’s The National, she did not mention the fact that Ghomeshi and her kissed in the auto before allegedly pulling her hair. Ghomeshi had been flirtatious, but she had no qualms accepting a ride with him, the woman testified.

The attached photo, entitled Beach, was taken two days earlier and sent to Ghomeshi three hours after she downloaded it.

“Hello Play Boy (Ghomeshi then had a TV show called Play)”, was the subject line of the January 16, 2004 email.

The two began kissing while sitting on the couch and then stood up and continued to kiss, she said.

“You didn’t tell the court the version you gave to the police”, the lawyer said.

Six months later, she sent a second email, also shown to the court.

“I was dizzy, disoriented, I felt like I had walked into a pole or hit my head on the pavement, it was that strong”.

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

The woman, who had met Ghomeshi at a Christmas party where she was working as a server, said he had invited her to a show taping, after which they went for a drink.

Why, he read, she had found the experience of testifying “extraordinarily hard”, but she always knew it would be like that.

“I wanted to be supportive, to encourage others to come out”, Hounslow told The Guardian. “My focus will be what happens inside this courtroom”.