Warning: This story contains graphic details. Discretion is advised.
A Kelowna Mountie accused of sexual assault took the stand in his own defence on Wednesday.
RCMP officer Chad Vance denied trying to rape a woman he had been dating for about six months in the summer of 2015.
He said the incident never happened and that there had never been a time when the alleged victim had told him to stop sexual advances and he didn’t.
The woman’s identity is protected under a publication ban.
She accuses Vance of coming up behind her while she was suntanning on the deck, pinning her down, ripping her bikini bottoms off and trying to sodomize her.
Vance denied trying to have sex with the woman outside in the middle of the day.
Court heard from an Interior Health employee who tried to help the woman a couple of weeks after the alleged attack.
The worker said the woman talked about feeling helpless and was in disbelief that the assault could have happened to her, as she was a physically strong woman.
The employee testified the woman felt violated and said she was still physically recovering from the assault.
When Vance took the stand, the defence went through a timeline of the pair’s relationship, largely relying on his credit card receipts.
Court heard discrepancies in the timeline provided by Vance and the woman.
The defence also noted that the two stayed in contact after the alleged attack occurred, with the woman inviting Vance to a conference and turning to him for advice at one point.
The 50-year-old Mountie is not in custody, but he has been suspended without pay and is also facing an RCMP code of conduct hearing.
The defence is expected to call another witness Thursday morning.
The trial is scheduled to last until Friday.