Regina court hears accused’s side in sex assault trial, teenage victim cross examined

For the second day in a row, the teenager accusing Phillip Levac, 32, of sexual assault took the stand at the Court of Queen’s Bench on Wednesday.

Court heard the remainder of the now 15-year-old’s video-recorded interview with Regina police, which is serving as part of her testimony.

The teen, who is sitting in a separate room in the courthouse during the trial, identified the accused through video conference.

Levac is charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference, stemming from incidents at his Regina home in April 2018.

In the days leading up to the alleged assaults, the victim said she and Levac exchanged sexual messages including naked pictures and videos of each other via SnapChat.

She admitted she had some “feelings” toward Levac, who she allegedly met in the weight room of the Fieldhouse and Lawson Aquatic Centre. She said Levac told her he had feelings for her, too.

The teen said she continued to remind Levac of her age, which was 14 at the time, and said “he was just going to be a gym trainer to me and nothing more.”

She said she didn’t tell anyone about her relationship with Levac until a police officer questioned her at her home after the alleged assaults.

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The victim also said she partly blames herself for the assaults.

“He didn’t force me to do it, but I felt bad for not. I don’t know,” she said.

Senior Crown prosecutor Kelly Kaip asked the teen if part of her wanted to have sex with Levac. She said, “a little bit, kind of, but most of me didn’t.”

“I feel like it’s my fault and that I’m stupid for going over to his house in the first place,” she said. “If I didn’t go over to his house in the first place, maybe, you know, it wouldn’t have happened.”

On Tuesday, court heard the teen describe the alleged sexual assaults as painful and scary during the video recordings.

She had a chance to add to her recorded statements on Wednesday.

“I did say, ‘stop’ and ‘I don’t want to do this,’ many times,” she said.

The teen said Levac seemed more “aggressive” during the second alleged sexual assault because she was “fighting back more than the first time.”

Levac has a history of violent sexual assaults. After moving to Regina’s North Central neighbourhood in November 2017, Regina police issued an advisory to warn the public of his high risk to re-offend.

The advisory also noted Levac was bound by a number of probation conditions including a curfew and having no contact with any of his victims. He also had to notify his probation officer of any current relationships.

The teen said Levac told her he had served time in prison for three previous sexual assaults. She told court Levac’s probation officer called her to talk about his criminal past. She said those conversations happened before the alleged sexual assaults.

“She asked me what I knew about Phillip and how I met him,” the victim said.

Cross examination

Following the complainant’s testimony, defence lawyer Andrew Hitchcock cross-examined the teen, revealing Levac’s version of events.

The defence argued Levac and the teen had an agreement for her to pay $150 for his training services.

During the first incident the teen claims she was sexually assaulted, Hitchcock argued she only went over to Levac’s house to pay him and then went home. The defence said she never went inside the house.

During the second alleged incident, the defence said the two shared a cab home from the gym. Levac and the teen both exited the cab at his house, but the teen walked away, returning a short time later to use Levac’s washroom.

Hitchcock said the teen had a fight with a “boyfriend of ex-boyfriend” and came back to talk to Levac about it.

The defence said Levac told the girl that he can only help her train “because she is under 18.” The complainant agreed with that statement.

Hitchcock said Levac denies sending or receiving any nude photos or videos of himself or the complainant.

Hitchcock also highlighted inconsistencies in the alleged victim’s statements with police, the preliminary trial and what she told the court on Wednesday.

Crown witness

A Crown witness who claims she saw Levac with the complainant at the Lawson Centre told court that their relationship seemed flirtatious.

The witness said she was working out in the weight room at the same time Levac was training the alleged victim. The witness said they looked like a dating couple.

“They were really flirty. She was more flirty than him,” the witness said. ““It would be unusual for someone to be flirty or touchy with their personal trainer.”

The witness identified Levac in the courtroom as the same man that she saw at the Lawson in April 2018.

The witness recognized Levac from the police advisory and called police two days later.

“My intuition just told me to do it,” she said.

Court will resume Thursday at 9:30 a.m. The Crown is expected to call more witnesses including civilians and police officers to the stand.