Alexander First Nation Chief Kurt Burnstick has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault charges dating back to 1985.
On Monday, a 48-year-old woman who can’t be named provided emotional testimony in an Edmonton courtroom packed with members of the band, describing three alleged unwanted encounters that took place when she was 15 and he was 18. He is charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of break and enter.
But defence lawyer Michael Sparks suggested it was an “innocent liaison” between two young people where the woman was “a willing participant” but didn’t want others to know they “fooled around a couple of times.”
The woman often paused to compose herself as she described events in the summer of 1985 on the Alexander reserve, 40 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
She said she was a summer student working on the reserve on a community newsletter alone in a semi-abandoned building when the unwanted advances began.
On one occasion, Burnstick kissed her and put his hand on her knee, she said. Another time, he touched her breasts and got on top of her, she said. Burnstick also showed up uninvited in her bedroom and kissed her as she tried to turn her head away, she told court.
“I remember him kissing me and I didn’t know what kissing was,” she said.
“I remember tasting cigarettes on his saliva. I remember the smell of his dirty hair,” the woman added, choking up. “I remember thinking: ‘Why is this happening to me? How can I get out of here?’ “
She said she didn’t tell anyone until years later because she was ashamed.
Sparks began cross-examination by asking the woman if she was OK. As he continued, he pointed out that at the time, Burnstick was 18 and only three years her senior.
Canada’s legal age of consent is 16 years old. A 14-year-old or 15-year-old can legally consent to sexual activity if their partner is less than five years older, and not in a position of trust or authority of dependency of the younger person, according to the Criminal Code of Canada.
‘An innocent liaison’
Sparks suggested the pair had spent a lot of time talking to each other that summer. She invited Burnstick to her home and into her bedroom on the day of one of the alleged incidents, when her mom was at bingo, so they “could hang out,” Sparks said.
While the woman was concerned because she didn’t want anyone to think she was fooling around with Burnstick, she didn’t come forward because at the time she was “fine with what happened,” the defence lawyer said.
What actually happened “was an innocent liaison, an affair between two young people who liked each other,” he said.
“No,” responded the woman, who repeatedly denied she was a willing participant.
Burnstick, who was re-elected as chief a year ago, was acquitted in a separate sexual assault case in January.
The trial continues until Wednesday.