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A former Canuck accused of sexually assaulting a young woman broke down in tears as he described the shock of learning of the allegations.
Former Canucks winger Jake Virtanen arrives at BC Supreme Court for his sexual assault case earlier this week. Photo by NICK PROCAILLO /PNG
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Former Vancouver Canuck winger Jake Virtanen broke down in tears Thursday as he described his reaction to learning from his agent that he had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman.
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“I was in complete disbelief,” the former player said as he testified in his defense at his trial in British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver.
Virtanen, who was told of the allegations in April 2021, leaned forward on the witness stand in the courtroom, hands over his face, after being asked how it felt to tell his then-girlfriend that someone had claimed that he had raped them.
His attorney, Colleen Eldon, was expected to wrap up her cross-examination of Virtanen late Thursday afternoon, but due to Virtanen’s emotional state, Judge Catherine Wedge called an end to proceedings for the day. The trial is expected to continue Friday with additional testimony from Virtanen.
The complainant and Virtanen provided very different accounts of what happened on the evening of September 26, 2017 in the hockey player’s room at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver.
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Prosecutors for Virtanen, who was 18 at the time of the alleged crime, said he picked her up at a friend’s home after she had traveled to the Vancouver area from her home in BC’s Interior. She didn’t want to go out that night, but she claimed that Virtanen insisted on seeing her that night.
Under questioning by Eldon, Virtanen denied making the push and said he only wanted to meet her that night because he had a busy schedule that week.
Appellant testified that she thought they were going out for a walk or walk and had no idea they were headed to Virtanen’s hotel and felt like she was sinking when they arrived.
Virtanen, who was 20 at the time of the alleged sexual assault and is now 25, testified that when he picked her up, they hugged each other over the seats and talked about hockey and an upcoming photo shoot for the complainant as they drove to a hotel.
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He said he told her he was staying at the hotel about a minute before they got there, but denied he had deliberately withheld information from her and said he had no concerns.
Asked to explain why he took the complainant to the hotel, Virtanen said he had been staying there for more than two weeks, being hosted by the Canucks, and had treated it like his home.
He said he wasn’t sure if they would have sex in his hotel room, but that would be up to her.
“It would have been her choice,” Virtanen told the jury.
Virtanen said at no point did the complainant say she didn’t want to go to the hotel room, and he described her behavior as “very normal and casual.”
Appellant testified that shortly after they entered the hotel room, Virtanen came up behind her on the balcony and began kissing her and placing his hands all over her body.
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Virtanen said the room did not have a balcony, and the two stood side by side at the window, admiring the view from the room.
Appellant testified that Virtanen was aggressive and forced himself on her against her consent and that she repeatedly told him she did not want to have sex.
But Virtanen said the complainant was an “active” and “enthusiastic” participant in having sex with him.
“Did you force (the complainant) to have sex with you against her wishes,” Eldon asked.
“Absolutely not,” Virtanen replied.
The accused said that the complainant was “completely into him” while they had sex on the bed.
“It was very obvious that he wanted to have sex,” he added.
kfraser@postmedia.com
twitter.com/keithrfraser
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