'I just wanted to go home and sleep,' testifies woman accusing cop of sexual assault

The woman who has accused an on-duty Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer of having sex with her when she was too drunk to give consent took the stand Thursday at his trial in Supreme Court in St. John's.

• Sex assault case against RNC officer will hinge on consent, Crown says

Const. Carl Douglas Snelgrove is charged with sexual assault relating to the complaint filed in spring 2015. 

Under questioning by the Crown, the woman recalled drinking five coolers before going to a bar in downtown St. John's the night of Dec. 20, 2014.

She said she went to get a cab home around 2:30 a.m., when a police car pulled up and the officer offered to drive her home.

The woman testified she couldn't find her keys so the officer helped her in through a window, and then she let him in the door.

She told a jury that the next thing she can remember is not having any clothes on and him having sex with her.

The complainant said she didn't go to the police at first because she had been drunk and that the man was a cop.

She told the court she can't recall if she she agreed to have sex with him, but she is certain that she did not want to have sex with him. 

Sober enough for conversation, woman says

Under cross-examination by the defence, the woman said she gave the officer directions to her house and that she was sober enough to have a conversation with him.

She said the officer was willing to take her to a friend's house, but she wanted to go to her own home. 

In response to additional questions, the complainant said it's possible she consented to sex with the officer, but she can't recall.

She admitted the two kissed.

When a lawyer for the defence suggested there was no panic after the incident, the woman agreed there wasn't.

After the defence finished its questioning, the woman said — in response to a re-direct from the Crown — that "she didn't intend to have sex. I just wanted to go home and sleep."

An agreed statement of facts entered into court Thursday confirms that the patrol car assigned to Snelgrove on the night in question was at the complainant's residence, determined by a GPS tracking device.

Both sides also agree Snelgrove's DNA matched a sample taken from the loveseat in the woman's home where the alleged sexual assault happened.

Friends testify about complainant's condition

The Crown called several friends of the complainant as witnesses on Thursday, to bolster its case about whether the woman was in a condition to grant consent. 

The first, a man, had spoken by phone with the complainant before the alleged assault took place.

He told the jury that when they spoke, his friend was not herself. He described her as intoxicated and using slurred speech and short, choppy sentences. 

He said the woman wanted him to pick her up, but he felt she was close enough to home to walk. 

The Crown called another man who testified he felt that the complainant was drunk by the time they went to the downtown club Velvet. 

Under cross-examination, the witness admitted he could not be certain about the woman's state of intoxication, although he said she had consumed five coolers. 

A third friend said the complainant was already intoxicated when their group headed downtown, but that he didn't know how much alcohol she consumed at the club. 

A fourth witness, a young woman who befriended the complainant at the club, said she was drunk herself that night, and assumed the complainant was as well. Like others who testified, the woman said she had no concerns for the complainant's safety.

Juror dismissed

Thursday morning's court session also saw the dismissal of a female juror, though no further details are permitted to be published. 

The jury is now composed of six men and five women.

Testimony is scheduled to resume on Monday.