Jian Ghomeshi trial: Crown decides not to close case, but to call another witness
3rd complainant exchanged thousands of text and email messages with Lucy DeCoutere
Prosecutors in Jian Ghomeshi's sexual assault trial decided not to close their case as planned Monday, after the third complainant testified, but announced another witness will be called.
Crown attorney Michael Callaghan said lawyers sometimes need "to reassess the case" as evidence unfolds, in announcing that he would be flying in another witness from Nova Scotia.
Jian Ghomeshi trial: 3rd complainant expected to testify
Defence lawyer Marie Henein plans to argue against hearing from the fourth Crown witness when court resumes Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon, Henein scrutinized the correspondence between the third complainant to testify and Lucy DeCoutere, who was the second complainant to testify. The lawyer asked why the two women talked about the details of the case — something they are not allowed to do.
The witness responded by saying she did not talk about her specific allegations against Ghomeshi with DeCoutere.
Henein also questioned the credibility of the complainant's testimony, saying that she only told police Friday that she brought Ghomeshi to her home on a separate night after the alleged sexual assault and that she masturbated him.
"You knew you would be caught out," Henein said of the omission.
The woman testified earlier that Ghomeshi choked her while they were making out at a Toronto park — and then put his hand over her mouth when she tried to get away.
Ghomeshi, 48, of Toronto, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault and one of choking to overcome resistance, with the charges involving three women.