Jury to deliberate in sexual assault trial of former Vancouver Canuck

The jury in the British Columbia Supreme Court trial for a former Vancouver Canuck accused of sexual assault is expected to start deliberations Monday.

The Crown and the defence counsel for Jake Virtanen finished their closing arguments focusing on the reliability of the testimony of the two witnesses, Virtanen and the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her.

Defence lawyer Brock Martland told the jury the 23-year-old woman’s testimony was “riddled” with inconsistencies, some minor and some “fundamental,” arguing she was not a trustworthy witness and saying that wasn’t the case with Virtanen.

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Virtanen told the court last week that the woman had been an “enthusiastic participant” in their encounter, while she testified she repeatedly told him “no” before the alleged assault in a Vancouver hotel room nearly five years ago.

Martland says even if jury members are left not knowing who to believe after hearing all of the evidence, they must deliver a verdict of not guilty.

Crown counsel Alan Ip told the jury the woman had a “firm” memory of the critical details surrounding the alleged assault, and argued that failing to remember or making errors in “minor, peripheral” details does not detract from the strength of her evidence that she repeatedly told Virtanen that she did not want to have sex.