'He hit me so hard, I flipped over him': Escort tells assault trial Curtis Sagmoen ran into her with ATV
This is Sagmoen's 4th criminal trial for crimes against sex trade workers.
The Crown's main witness in North Okanagan resident Curtis Sagmoen's assault trial told a Vernon, B.C., courtroom Sagmoen ran into her from behind with an ATV with so much force, she flipped over him and landed face first on the ground.
The woman, a sex trade worker whose name is protected under a publication ban, testified she had driven to a rural property on Salmon River Road, south of Salmon Arm B.C, on Aug 10, 2017, to meet Sagmoen for a three to four hour date and had quoted him a price range of $900 to $1,200 for her services.
Sagmoen, 39, is on trial for one count of assault causing bodily harm. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge. This is his fourth criminal trial within the last year-and-a-half for crimes against sex workers.
The witness said Sagmoen was riding an ATV when she arrived at the property to meet him.
She testified Sagmoen initially wanted her to provide her services along the side of a creek. When she refused, he asked her to follow him in her car up a path toward where he said his house was.
After the woman's car got stuck, she agreed to ride on Sagmoen's ATV further up the hill, she testified.
She told the court Sagmoen seemed confused as to where his house was and told her he lived in an RV on the property, but the land owner had recently moved it and he didn't know where it was.
The woman said she felt the situation was "ridiculous" and since Sagmoen couldn't produce the money he had agreed to pay her, she asked him to take her back to her car on his ATV.
Sagmoen drove her part of the way, but then stopped the ATV and shut it off, telling her it wasn't working, she testified.
She got off and after smoking a cigarette, she started walking back toward her car on her own, she told the court.
The woman said she heard the sound of the ATV starting up and driving toward her and soon after it struck her from behind.
"He hit me so hard, I flipped over him," she said. "I am lucky I didn't lose consciousness."
She told the court she thought Sagmoen was trying to knock her over a cliff on the hillside.
"He tried to kill me," she told the court.
The woman testified Sagmoen was looking over the cliff for her when she got up off the ground and she said he appeared startled to see her.
He repeatedly told her he didn't mean to run into her with the ATV, she said.
The witness said she found her keys and walked down the path to her car backwards, so she could keep an eye on Sagmoen.
She said Sagmoen offered to go to his boss's house nearby to get money to pay her, but she quickly drove away after he went into the home.
'I was scared,' said witness
"I was scared," she said. "I was afraid he was going to follow me home."
The witness suffered a concussion, a broken tailbone, scrapes and bruising, she testified. She didn't initially seek medical attention or go to the police.
She eventually gave a statement to RCMP officers in December 2017. The case is being tried in B.C. Supreme Court by judge alone.
Prior convictions
Sagmoen has prior convictions for crimes against sex trade workers.
Last February, he was convicted of assaulting a woman in Maple Ridge for an incident in 2013 and last December he was convicted of pointing a gun at another sex worker in an incident that happened in 2017, just a few weeks after the events he is currently on trial for.
In 2018, Sagmoen was handed an absolute discharge after he pleaded guilty to one count of mischief in a case where a spike belt was used to deflate the tires of another woman's vehicle on the Salmon River Road property.
Sagmoen's court appearances have drawn considerable interest and are usually met with rallies on the courthouse steps from demonstrators calling for an end to violence against women.
In October 2017, the RCMP began a large scale search of a farm on Salmon River Road south of Salmon Arm belonging to Sagmoen's parents, where investigators found the remains of 18-year-old Traci Genereaux.
Police said at the time Genereaux's death was suspicious. No charges have been laid in connection with her death and Sagmoen has not been named a suspect.