Girl says taxi driver sexually assaulted her when she was 14, threatened to kill her if she told anyone
Joseph Cooney, 65, of Happy Valley-Goose Bay faces sexual assault, other charges
A Labrador courtroom heard a teenage girl describing to police how a taxi driver allegedly sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her when she was 14 after she was a passenger in his cab.
Joseph Cooney, 65, is charged with sexual interference, sexual assault, uttering death threats and forcible confinement relating to an incident in June 2017.
The girl, who is now 16 and cannot be identified, is testifying at the trial via video link from a separate room, in addition to a videotaped interview with the RCMP.
She said Cooney — who worked as a taxi driver in Happy Valley-Goose Bay — offered her a ride while she was walking during the night of June 2, 2017.
The teen said she said no at first.
The girl told the RCMP she knew Cooney, as she and her friend had been passengers in his taxi a few weeks earlier.
She said Cooney was friendly during that incident.
I told him I was 14: complainant
On June 2, 2017, the victim eventually agreed to a ride from Cooney.
The teen said Cooney took her to his house, which she said she recognized because a friend had pointed it out to her in the past.
Before they got to Cooney's house, he asked the girl how old she was, according to her video testimony.
When she told him she was 14 years old, Cooney didn't say anything, she said.
At the house, she said, Cooney sexually assaulted her and had sex with her. When she asked him to stop, he did so right away, according to the teen.
The legal age of sexual consent is 16 in Canada.
When she went to leave the house, she said, he threatened to kill her if she told anyone what had happened.
While the complainant gave her testimony by video, she was asked to enter the same courtroom as Cooney to identify him visually.
A shield was set up to block him from her view. When she was asked to step out from behind the barrier and point at or describe the alleged offender's clothing, she became emotional.
Eventually, though, she did point at Cooney.
RCMP officer testifies
In earlier testimony, RCMP Const. Sebastien Pelchat, the lead investigator on the case, said Cooney told him he knew why he had come to his house.
Cooney said it was probably because of a young girl who wouldn't leave him alone, said Pelchat.
Pelchat testified he informed Cooney of the allegations that were made against him and brought him to the station for arrest.
The trial has been plagued by technical issues since it started earlier this week, with a defence lawyer in Wabush, an RCMP witness in Moncton and the complainant all struggling to connect remotely.
A date will be set next week to finish the Crown's questioning of the complainant, as well as cross-examination from the defence.
With files from Jacob Barker and Stephanie Kinsella