The Haas trial has concluded its second week.
Taylor Haas, the son of a well-known B.C. chocolatier, is accused of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred two years ago in Kingston.
Haas’ father is the owner of Thomas Haas’ Chocolate in British Columbia. Haas previously attended Queen’s University in 2018 but now resides in B.C.
Haas has pleaded not guilty to the alleged assault that is said to have occurred on Feb. 21, 2018, while he was attending Queen’s University.
Four witnesses, who cannot be named, testified in court on Tuesday, while Taylor Haas took the stand for several hours on Wednesday.
Two of the witnesses relayed similar testimonies regarding the events that took place on the night of the alleged incident. All witnesses explained how the alleged victim was noticeably intoxicated that night, alleging that she was slurring her words.
One witness testified that Haas offered to walk her home, saying that was the last time they saw Haas and the alleged victim that night. When referring to Haas, the witness said “We told him to just drop her off at the house and we said, ‘do not sleep with her.'”
During cross-examination of another witness, Haas’ attorney strongly questioned her ability to tell whether the alleged victim was, in fact, aware of what she was doing that night.
Haas testified that his accuser told him she didn’t remember everything that occurred that night and that she had a lot to drink, but that he believes she acted no differently than she previously had any other time that they were drinking together.
Haas told the court that the alleged victim asked if him if they had sex the morning of, then said that her memory was a bit fuzzy from last night.
According to Haas, after the alleged victim left his home, he texted her to make sure she was alright.
“I decided to send her a message to make sure she was okay with everything that happened that night.” said Haas.
“She responded saying it was totally okay and not to worry about it. So I didn’t worry after that.”
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Haas’ attourney asked him, “Why were you concerned about that?”
“I was worried when she said she didn’t remember,” Haas replied. “I wasn’t sure how she was feeling.”
During cross-examination, the Crown pointed to other texts that Haas sent to someone that he knew. When referring to sleeping with the alleged victim, he allegedly texted, “I knew she was too drunk.”
“You’re asking the court to read that message but not to interpret the message as you acknowledging that the victim was too drunk to consent?” said counsel.
“I wasn’t thinking about having sex with her,” Haas later said. “She seemed aware of everything that we were doing.”
The Crown also pointed out that another witness previously testified that she told Haas not to sleep with the alleged victim because of how intoxicated she was.
Haas said that the conversation between himself and that witness the night of Feb. 21 was casual.
The Crown responded, saying, “How is that a casual conversation? When someone tells you not to have sex with someone because she is drunk.”
Haas later explained that he didn’t see the conversation as being serious but a casual conversation between himself and his friend.
Closing arguments in this trial are set to take place in Kingston’s Superior Court on April 15.
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