A veteran Toronto councillor accused of sexually assaulting two women at an Ontario cottage in 2022 denied in court Wednesday that any assault took place, and instead testified that one of the complainants in the case initiated a consensual sexual encounter with him.
Scarborough Coun. Michael Thompson returned to the witness box at his judge-alone trial in Barrie and gave his version of events for that Canada Day weekend, saying no one present at the gathering was inebriated and nothing illegal happened.
The former deputy mayor is facing two charges of sexual assault for alleged incidents involving two women at the Muskoka cottage. Their identities are protected by a court-ordered publication ban.
One woman previously testified that Thompson touched her inappropriately while applying sunscreen, while the other said he forced himself on her in the middle of the night. Thompson has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Responding to questions from his lawyer, Leora Shemesh, Thompson repeatedly said no when asked if he had assaulted anyone, if he had pressured anyone at the cottage to drink, or if he had invited guests along with any sort of hidden agenda.
“Absolutely not,” Thompson said. “I had no agenda.”
‘I felt trapped,’ complainant testified
One of the complainants in the case
testified earlier this year
, and alleged that Thompson had forced himself on her after a day of heavy drinking.
The complainant said that at one point during the weekend, Thompson woke her while she was sleeping and took her to a downstairs bedroom. There, she said, he was “definitely trying to engage in something sexual,” while standing close to her and touching her.
“I said to him, ‘I don’t want to do this,'” she said, adding she told him she worried about becoming pregnant in an effort to deter his advances.
The complainant said she laid down on a bed, still feeling the effects of the alcohol she’d consumed, at which point Thompson put his penis around her face and mouth and later ejaculated on her face and chest.
“At that moment I was scared. I just knew I couldn’t do anything,” she told the courtroom, repeating that she had not wanted any sexual contact with Thompson. “I felt trapped.”
Woman initiated sexual encounter, Thompson says
Thompson, meanwhile, presented a very different version of events in court Thursday, and said the woman had spent most of the day touching him and flirting with him, as well as suggesting they hook up later in the evening.
“She was very forward, dancing, grabbing me closer, kissing me on the lips, gyrating with her body, leaning with her derriere into my frontal area,” Thompson said.
The council member stated that he decided to rest later that day due to fatigue, and upon waking up, discovered the accuser in his bedroom completely nude. She invited him to join her for a drink in the kitchen. Following her lead, they had some tequila together and discussed the scenery of the water outside, according to his testimony. Afterward, they descended to an area in the lower level of the house where she proceeded to perform oral sex on him.
“Did you ever think at any time that she wasn’t giving consent?” asked Shemesh of her client.
“No,” he replied. Thompson mentioned that they ended their conversation on amicable terms, yet she did not get in touch with him following that weekend.
Sunscreen incident also addressed
Earlier in the day, the court listened to Thompson’s account of another event at the cabin concerning a secondary accuser. When giving testimony towards the end of last year, this individual mentioned that Thompson requested putting sunscreen on her while they were both on the property’s pier. She stated that although she consented to avoid causing a disturbance, she experienced discomfort during the situation.
At the time, the woman stated that Thompson inquired whether he could place his hand under her bathing suit after his fingers had already been underneath her clothes. During her testimony, she mentioned feeling uneasy, yet being “highly drunk,” which made her feel unable to refuse.
Meanwhile, Thompson mentioned on Thursday that it was the woman who requested he apply sunscreen to her back, emphasizing multiple times that nobody at the cottage was intoxicated during that holiday weekend despite their alcohol consumption. He provided an elaborate description of the scenario, even specifying which hand she used to grasp the bottle.
Thompson stated that he neither massaged the complainant nor touched any other part of her body apart from her back.
The court adjourned for the day after the councillor was questioned regarding when he became aware of the charges against him in this case, and he seemed to shed tears while testifying.
The proceedings are scheduled to continue on Thursday.
