MARK BLINCH/REUTERS Jian Ghomeshi, a former celebrity radio host who has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, leaves the courthouse after the first day of his trial alongside his lawyer Marie Henein (L), in Toronto on Monday.
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Former CBC Radio Host Jian Ghomeshi stepped in to his first day of trail for sexual assault Monday morning in Toronto.
The defense lawyer, Marie Henein, known for its approach without thank you, is the main advocate of Ghomeshi.
She and Ghomeshi at one point started kissing while in his vehicle, she alleged that Ghomeshi reached behind her head with his hand to pull her hair.
The witness was also asked about a pair of emails she sent to Ghomeshi a year after the alleged assaults.
The woman, who can not be identified, has been facing a barrage of questions about inconsistencies in various things she has said.
The former host of Q, an internationally syndicated Canadian Broadcasting Corporation music and arts program, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking.
Understandably, the witness’ testimony frequently contradicted her prior statements to the police, her statements to the media, and the evidence that will presumably be tendered during the course of the trial.
Instead, much of the process is simply getting the witness ready to deal with the stress of being in the spotlight and having someone challenge their recollections, she said.
The woman, then 41, had met Ghomeshi at a Christmas party and he had invited her to a show taping, after which they went for a drink.
“For even someone who gets all those technicalities correct (cross-examination) can be a very jarring process”, she said. “I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, now that I have had the chance to tell my story openly”.
The witness sent this email to Ghomeshi about six months after the one above.
The woman has previously said that the former CBC Radio host suddenly yanked her hair as they sat in his vehicle, but now says there was no head smashing.
During cross-examination, Henein pointed to discrepancies in the witness’ account of the alleged assaults to police, media and to the court.
The witness also encouraged victims of abuse to come forward and “not be afraid”. I had no interest in him … She recalled the CBC personality drove a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, which reassured her. “He’s driving a vehicle that reminds me of a 1960’s Disney movie”, she said. “And if you missed that… here is my phone number”, Henein said.
The defense did not ask for psychological records, which are thus “not in play”, said Ms. Henein Horkins the judge, adding that the tags are in place to protect complainants. To convict Ghomeshi on the first count of sexual assault, for instance, Justice William Horkins must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Ghomeshi’s hair pulling was sexual in nature. “I was surprised by how violent the allegations against him were”, stated Jim Hounslow, an employee of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and one of several of Ghomeshi’s accusers, told the Guardian.
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“She’s certainly one of the go-to lawyers in the city Toronto”, said Rosenthal, who has known Henein since she was a law student.
