'I said no': Woman insists former SMU groundskeeper sexually assaulted her

A woman insisted Wednesday that she clearly told Matthew Percy no as he violently sexually assaulted her in 2014, even though her memory of the night is patchy.

Percy, 36, is accused of sexual assault causing bodily harm in relation to a 2014 incident on Dalhousie University's campus in Halifax. 

The former Saint Mary's University groundskeeper has pleaded not guilty and is being tried by judge alone in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

The complainant in this case spent two days answering questions about the night of Dec. 5, 2014. Her name is protected by a publication ban.

She was out celebrating her 19th birthday when she met Percy outside a downtown bar.

She told the court they ended back in her room after grabbing a drink together and picking up late-night poutine. At the time of the alleged offence, she was living in an apartment-style residence at Dalhousie.

On Tuesday, the complainant was at times tearful as she recounted how back in her room, Percy's behaviour became aggressive. She alleged he choked, bit and struck her as he repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

What the defence said

On Wednesday, defence lawyer Peter Planetta asked how much she had to drink and questioned the complainant about what exactly she remembered about the night.

She agreed there were sections she doesn't recall, saying that's in part because of the amount of alcohol, but also because it was more than five years ago. Though she initially went to police in the days after the alleged assault, Percy was not charged until 2018.

In his cross-examination, Planetta suggested an alternative narrative where the woman consented to sexual activity with Percy — from kissing downtown to having sex on her bed — and hadn't given any signal she felt otherwise.

"From your perspective, were you consenting to the activity up until this point?" Planetta asked. 

"From my perspective, no. But there are the blanks," she responded.

He also challenged how she characterized the oral sex, noting she didn't tell police she felt confused and threatened, which she mentioned in court on Tuesday.

Planetta suggested she and Percy had consensual oral sex and vaginal sex, during which she said "take me" repeatedly. He said the pair then proceeded to the bathroom where Percy asked her about anal sex and she consented.

The complainant disputed this, raising her voice slightly in the courtroom. 

"I never ever said yes to that," she testified.

Earlier, she told the court "I said no" and Percy "absolutely heard it."

She also said the defence lawyer was "incorrect" in suggesting there was no further sexual activity. She reiterated that Percy assaulted her in the shower and then again back in her bedroom when he held her down and forced her to perform oral sex.

During Wednesday's cross-examination, Planetta also questioned the complainant about the statements she made to police and sexual assault nurse examiners in the days after the alleged assault.

'I was pretty traumatized,' says complainant

He brought up that she never told the nurses about there being sexual activity in the shower or that there was oral sex later. 

"I was pretty traumatized, I could've missed it," the complainant responded.

She also said that even if she didn't mention a stop at the Toothy Moose on Argyle Street to the nurses, she knew it happened because she remembered it.

The complainant also told the court that she felt the Halifax Regional Police officer who interviewed her cut her off and jumped around with questions during her statement back in 2013.

"I feel like there are parts that I would have been able to get out if I wasn't cut off or redirected through my statement," she said.

Trial to resume Thursday

Court will resume Thursday morning. Crown prosecutor Rick Woodburn is expected to call police officers and sexual assault nurse examiners to testify. 

This is the third sexual assault trial for Percy, who was convicted in 2018 of sexually assaulting another woman.

He was acquitted in a separate sexual assault case that same year.

Percy faces another trial later this year for sexual assault causing bodily harm, choking to overcome resistance and assault in relation to an incident in 2013 involving a woman he knew.

CBC reporter Elizabeth McMillan live tweeted from the courtroom on Wednesday.