Female officer didn’t want charges after alleged sexual assault, commander says
By The Canadian Press
HALIFAX – A military commander says a female officer only offered a “partial recollection” of an alleged sexual assault, and did not want to proceed with charges.
The commander was called to the stand as the defence for Sgt. Kevin MacIntyre opened its case Thursday at his court martial in Halifax.
MacIntyre, a military policeman, has pleaded not guilty to a sexual assault charge resulting from an alleged incident on Sept. 27, 2015, at a Glasgow, Scotland, hotel during a deployment.
The commander said Thursday he met later that morning with the complainant and another officer who had been with her and MacIntyre earlier.
“There was no firm recollection; they admitted that there was a large amount of alcohol consumed,” he said under questioning by defence lawyer David Bright.
The commander said he asked the female officer a number of times whether she wanted to proceed with a formal complaint and she said no because she didn’t want her husband to know about what happened.
He said he did not approach MacIntyre about the allegation.
“I wasn’t comfortable and because it was a partial recollection,” he said.
He told the court that he formed no conclusion at the time as to MacIntyre’s guilt or innocence. Still, he ended up redeploying him because of the complainant’s obvious discomfort.
He said she was looked withdrawn and wasn’t eating.
The officer said he informed his superior officer, who supported his plan to send MacIntyre ahead of the small team to the next port of call.
During cross examination, prosecutor Maj. Larry Langlois asked the witness what he meant by partial recollection.
“The things she mentioned she was clear about — she had no hesitation about those things?” Langlois asked. “There was some I think,” the witness replied.
“So the information you received was sufficient to take some action?” asked Langlois. “It was sufficient,” the commanding officer replied.
The defence also presented a series of witnesses who testified to MacIntyre’s character, describing him as honest, trustworthy, and a good husband and father.
The female officer made a formal complaint in March of 2016. The woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, testified Monday she awoke to find MacIntyre in her bed and didn’t know how he had gotten into her room.
She told the court martial that she didn’t scream or yell during the alleged assault, but told MacIntyre “No,” several times as she was forced to continually remove his hand from her lower extremities “10 to 15 times.”
She said he eventually penetrated her. The complainant said she believes she “just froze.”
In a two-hour statement videotaped by police on June 28, 2016, MacIntyre told investigators that they had consensual sex.
He said he had knocked on her door while looking for the jacket he had misplaced and said that “things progressed from there.”
He was scheduled to take the stand to testify later Thursday.
