WARNING: This article contains graphic content.
The complainant at the centre of Skipp Anderson’s sexual assault retrial testified he didn’t consent nor initiate sex with the former Saskatoon nightclub owner after a hot tub party.
The now 25-year-old man, who can’t be named due to a publication, said he woke up around 3:30 a.m. with Anderson behind him, engaged in intercourse with him.
“It started hurting, so I told him to stop,” he said.
Anderson, now 42, did stop, according to the testimony.
They were at Anderson’s house in July 2016, where a group of friends had earlier been drinking and using his hot tub. After the equivalent of eight or nine drinks through the evening, the complainant said he blacked out.
His last memory before waking up around 3:30 was a friend arriving at the house around 11:30 p.m.
Two of his beverages were “bold spiced rum and cokes,” which he said Anderson mixed with over-proof alcohol and gave to him in a large plastic cup.
“I was drunk at that point,” he said.
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Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Mark Brayford, the man said he didn’t remember being taken out of the hot tub and carried to a main-floor spare bedroom.
Brayford asked about a conversation between Anderson and the man that happened immediately after the intercourse. Anderson thought they were both willing participants, according to the defence.
Anderson’s lawyer asked that since the complainant can’t remember it, is it possible that he initiated sex with Anderson.
The man answered yes.
After Anderson drove the man home, he text messaged Anderson that he “didn’t remember what happened” and he “didn’t think it was okay,” court heard.
The complainant was the fourth and final Crown witness during the judge-alone trial.
The man’s name can’t be reported due to a routine publication ban. Justice Alison Rothery also ordered a publication ban on the other witnesses’ names to ensure the complainant’s identity isn’t revealed.
Three people who were in the hot tub told court the alleged victim appeared intoxicated and at one point slid below the water’s surface in the hot tub.
The third witness, who said he didn’t drink that night, said the man appeared to be in and out of consciousness as Anderson carried him away to the spare room. Before he left Anderson’s home around 12:30 a.m., the man said he checked on the alleged victim.
He was passed out in a swimsuit on top of the blankets of a bed in the spare room, according to the testimony.
Asked about Anderson’s behaviour throughout the party, the witness said Anderson was the bartender.
“He was a good host,” he said. He also stated “everyone else seemed fine” during the evening.
The defence is expected to call two witnesses on Wednesday, including Anderson testifying in his own defence.
At his previous trial in January 2018, a jury found Anderson guilty of sexual assault. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal overturned the decision and ordered a new trial after determining the original trial judge failed to properly instruct jurors after they heard prejudicial information.
Anderson is the former owner of Saskatoon’s Pink Lounge & Nightclub.
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