A Saskatoon judge has found former registered massage therapist Mark Donlevy guilty of sexual assault.
The victim could be heard sobbing in court as the decision was handed down. Sentencing arguments are scheduled for Oct. 19.
Donlevy and the victim, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, met online in the summer of 2004.
She testified they met for coffee before going mini-golfing, then to a drive-in movie and then a bar to go dancing where she drank vodka.
She said she and began to feel intoxicated, tired and nauseous and told Donlevy she wanted to go back to his house.
The woman told the court once they got to Donlevy’s house, she asked for a glass of water and tried to go to sleep on a loveseat, but Donlevy insisted she’d be more comfortable in the bedroom.
It was there she said Donlevy raped her.
Justice Heather MacMillan-Brown said the woman was a credible and reliable witness, and any gaps in her memory were not a result of selective recollection.
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“She was forthright and compelling in her narrative. There was no hint of holding anything back,” MacMillan-Brown said.
“There was no hint of manipulating her evidence to reach a particular result.”
Donlevy did not testify at his trial.
In her decision, the judge rejected the defence’s criticism of some of the woman’s behaviour on the day she met with Donlevy.
During cross-examination, the woman acknowledged kissing Donlevy at the movie, placing her hand on his hand, suggesting going to the bar and later choosing to go home with Donlevy.
During closing arguments, the defence said there was a progression of activity, which could only infer that the sex was consensual, the judge said.
“To accept this line of reasoning would draw me in perilously close to an area that is rife with myths and stereotypes about victims of sexual assault,” MacMillan-Brown said.
Outside court, Crown prosecutor Cory Bliss said it needs to be clear that people “have the right to say no” to every form of sexual contact.
The woman filed the complaint against Donlevy after 11 women came forward alleging Donlevy sexually assaulted them during massage therapy appointments between 2003 and 2016.
He has pleaded not guilty to those charges and is expected to stand trial at a later date.
– With files from Adam MacVicar
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