Woman accusing Whitehorse Connective support worker of sexual assault testifies at trial

A woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by a Connective residential support worker in Whitehorse last year testified at his trial this week.

Victor Omale is charged with one count each of sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a person with a disability. He's pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The complainant's name is under a publication ban. She testified briefly on Monday, all day Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. 

The alleged sexual assault, she told the court, left her feeling ashamed, traumatized and guilty.

Answering questions from Crown attorney Leo Lane, the woman confirmed that she had fetal alcohol syndrome and schizophrenia as well as other health issues. She also confirmed that she had lived in a Connective-run apartment in Whitehorse where she had a support worker present around the clock. 

Connective is a non-profit organization that provides various social services, including housing, reintegration and employment support. 

Recounting the day in question — Sept. 8, 2023 — the woman testified that she got up from a nap around 4:30 p.m. and saw three Connective employees, including Omale and two managers, talking in the staff office in her apartment. 

The managers left, she said, and Omale introduced himself to her with a handshake. 

The handshake was "weird" and left her feeling uncomfortable, the woman testified, because Omale held her hand for too long and rubbed it.  

After showering and getting dressed, the woman said she asked Omale to take her to the Canada Games Centre so she could go swimming. However, she testified, the pool was closed when they got there and she then requested that Omale buy her a Booster Juice.

The woman said that Omale told her he needed to check with his manager, and that the manager would come with a company credit card.

The manager, however, didn't show up, she said, and she then asked Omale to take her for a drive to Marsh Lake instead. 

The drive out was quiet, the woman testified, and Omale parked in a rest stop area after crossing a bridge.

They were both sitting in the vehicle, the woman testified, when Omale motioned towards her crotch and asked if he could "play" with her.

"I was shocked," the woman told the court, adding that she didn't respond.

'It was wrong that it happened'

Omale then drove them back to the apartment, the woman continued, where she changed into her nightgown and laid down on the couch in the living room to watch TV. After a few minutes, she alleged, Omale came out of the staff office, sat on the couch by her feet, motioned towards her crotch again and asked if he could "play." 

The woman testified that she said no and that Omale went back to his office, but that after a few minutes she called out to him and said, "Yes, we can play."

She testified that she gave Omale a condom from her purse after he asked for one, and that she then went to her room while Omale closed the blinds and locked the apartment's front door.

She alleged that they then had intercourse. 

The woman said that the reality of the alleged incident didn't really "click" in her head until later.

"Like, it was wrong that it happened and I felt guilty and ashamed… I felt at fault," she testified, adding that in the following days, she felt "numbed out."

"I was going through a lot of feelings," she said. 

While she said she had planned to ask Omale for $100 to "keep my mouth shut," she said she didn't see him again and ended up telling another support worker about the situation about a week later. 

In cross-examination, defence lawyer Jennifer Budgell questioned the woman's account.

"You made this entire story up," Budgell said at one point.

"No I haven't," the woman replied. "I'm telling the God's honest truth." 

Budgell put a number of suggestions to the woman which she all denied, including that she didn't like Black people or people from other countries — Omale immigrated from Nigeria — and that she had memory issues. 

Budgell also went over the woman's lengthy criminal record, which spanned from 1999 to 2017, and noted that, as of 2023, she was under the jurisdiction of the Yukon Review Board. While the woman acknowledged the convictions, she repeatedly said that she did not remember the specifics of the crimes. 

The woman also confirmed she had repeatedly requested to Connective managers that she not be assigned male support workers but she kept getting them, and that was why she repeatedly "absconded" from the residence that summer. 

The woman denied that she had "made up" the sexual assault to get Conenctive to stop assigning her male support workers, or as a way to get "sympathy" for a review board hearing she had later that month.

The trial continues.