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| Jian Ghomeshi accuser testifies at sex assault trial: 'I had compassion for him' | Jian Ghomeshi accuser testifies at sex assault trial: 'I had compassion for him' |
| (7 months later) | |
| The second witness to accuse Jian Ghomeshi of sexual assault in the former radio star’s ongoing trial spent much of her testimony on Thursday explaining her reasons for sending him flowers and spending time with him after he allegedly choked her and slapped her across the face. | The second witness to accuse Jian Ghomeshi of sexual assault in the former radio star’s ongoing trial spent much of her testimony on Thursday explaining her reasons for sending him flowers and spending time with him after he allegedly choked her and slapped her across the face. |
| Lucy DeCoutere, a star of the TV and film series Trailer Park Boys, said she felt the need to please Ghomeshi and placate him after a crime for which she blamed herself. “I had compassion for him, but not compassion for myself,” she said, according to Canada’s CBC News. | Lucy DeCoutere, a star of the TV and film series Trailer Park Boys, said she felt the need to please Ghomeshi and placate him after a crime for which she blamed herself. “I had compassion for him, but not compassion for myself,” she said, according to Canada’s CBC News. |
| “I always thought that assault meant that you were beaten to pieces and I didn’t think this qualified,” she added later. “I didn’t know this was illegal. I thought to be assaulted you had to be broken and raped.” | “I always thought that assault meant that you were beaten to pieces and I didn’t think this qualified,” she added later. “I didn’t know this was illegal. I thought to be assaulted you had to be broken and raped.” |
| Ghomeshi has pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking. He is the former host of Q, a popular radio show on culture also heard in the US. | |
| Allegations by a string of women against the star rocked Ghomeshi’s employer – Canada’s public broadcaster – and sparked a nationwide conversation about consent and sexual harassment. | |
| DeCoutere, the first alleged victim to publicly identify herself, said she kissed Ghomeshi goodnight after the alleged assault. She said she went out with him again that weekend and sent him flowers when she returned to her home in Halifax.“Sounds like a ludicrous choice, but when I spend time with men, I send them flowers,” she said. She also said she later went on his radio show. | |
| The first woman to testify this week, whose name is subject to a publication ban, acknowledged that she emailed Ghomeshi a picture of herself in a bikini a year after he allegedly sexually assaulted her, pulling her hair and punching her in the head. | |
| Police launched an investigation in 2014 after nine women contacted various media sources to report allegations of assault and sexual assault involving Ghomeshi.Ghomeshi, who first gained fame as a member of the 1990s satirical pop band Moxy Fruvous, previously defended himself in a 1,500-word statement on Facebook, saying women consented to having “rough sex” and that he was the victim of a disgruntled ex-girlfriend. | |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |