Verdict in sex assault case of retired vice-admiral Edmundson expected Wednesday
WARNING: This story contains details of an alleged sexual assault
The verdict in the sex assault trial of retired vice-admiral Haydn Edmundson, who is accused of attacking a woman more than 30 years ago, is set to be delivered Wednesday in an Ottawa courtroom.
Edmundson, who was also the military’s former head of human resources, was charged in December 2021 with one count of sexual assault and one count of committing indecent acts. He has pleaded not guilty.
Ontario Court Judge Matthew C. Webber will render his decision as the case was tried by a judge alone.
Over the eight-day trial, which began on Feb. 5, court heard allegations from Stéphanie Viau, who claimed that Edmundson sexually assaulted her while they were on deployment on a naval ship.
Viau said the attack happened inside Edmundson’s cabin while the ship was docked at a U.S. navy base on Nov. 8, 1991. At the time of the alleged assault, Edmundson was a lieutenant-commander, the navigator of the ship.
Viau’s identity had been protected under a publication ban, but that was lifted by Webber during closing arguments as requested by Viau.
Feared for her life, court heard
Viau testified in court that Edmundson had called her into his quarters. While there, she said that she froze and feared for her life as Edmundson approached her, kissed her, unbuttoned her shirt and bra, pulled down her shorts and underwear and kissed her vagina.
Viau said Edmundson then grabbed her by the hips, turned her around and “proceeded raping me.”
But Edmundson, who also took the witness box during the trial, denied that he sexually assaulted Viau or had any physical or sexual contact with her.
Court heard that Viau’s duties aboard the ship included waking up officers, including Edmundson, for their night shifts.
She testified that on one particular mission, some of Edmundson’s body parts would be exposed when she went to awaken him.
She said a couple of days before the alleged sexual assault, she had an outburst when she went to wake Edmundson for his night shift and found him lying in the bed naked.
She said she lost her composure, yelled and turned on the lights, in part to wake up Edmundson’s bunkmate so he could witness the behaviour she had to deal with.
But Edmundson testified that none of this ever happened. He also denied having a bunkmate at the time.
Crown never challenged some facts: defence
During closing arguments, Edmundson’s lawyer Brian Greenspan said the Crown declined to challenge Edmundson on some essential facts of the case, including the alleged sexual assault and Edmundson’s claim that he had no bunkmate.
Greenspan also said that Viau had identified two people she thought to have been Edmundson’s roommate, but that this was later found out to be inaccurate.
As well, Greenspan argued that if Viau had had such an outburst, others on the ship would have heard it, but no such evidence was provided.
However, Juliana Martel, assistant Crown attorney, said that Viau never wavered in her evidence, did not contradict herself and was very detailed in describing the alleged sexual assault
Martel noted that Viau also provided a very specific account of what happened the night of the alleged outburst. Martel also rejected the defence’s insistence that Edmundson did not have a roommate at the time.
Both Greenspan and Martel also referred to the testimony given by a friend of Viau who had been on the ship at the time.
The now-retired service member, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, backed up Viau’s testimony that when the ship docked back in November 1991, they were planning to go to a bar on land.
The woman said she and another colleague had gone to search for Viau on that vessel that same evening.
Retired vice-admiral Haydn Edmundson testified in his own defence at trial. The former head of human resources for the military is charged with one count of committing indecent acts and one count of sexual assault.
When neither could find Viau, they assumed she had already left the ship and was at the bar, the witness testified. Viau testified that she heard her friend calling out for her while she was in Edmundson’s quarters.
But Greenspan said that evidence from the woman was “fraught with tainting issues” because the details she had related were not from her own recollection. He said they were fed to her by CBC News reporter Ashley Burke, who had interviewed the witness back in March 2021, and who had provided her with many of the details about what happened that particular day.
Martel disagreed, saying that the woman came to court and provided sworn testimony of her own recollection.
