Accused rapist in 22-year-old cold case trial testifies sex was consensual
Meghan Grant | CBC News | Posted: May 15, 2017 11:03 PM | Last Updated: May 15, 2017
Wayne Bernard is on trial for the 1995 rape of a Calgary woman who has since died of cancer
The man accused of raping a Calgary woman 22 years ago said his DNA was found inside the victim because the two had consensual sex before she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted.
Wayne Bernard, 55, is on trial on charges of sexual assault with a weapon, kidnapping and robbery. On Monday, defence lawyer Rebecca Snukal called Bernard to testify in his own defence.
The alleged victim, Maureen — not her real name, a publication ban protects her identity — died of cancer a decade ago at the age of 63 without ever seeing charges laid.
"How did your DNA get into [Maureen's] vagina?" asked Snukal in her first question to the accused.
"We had sexual intercourse," Bernard replied, prompting members of Maureen's family who were sitting in the gallery to shake their heads.
Bernard said the two worked in the same downtown strip of shops and they got to know each other during cigarette breaks when both were working at night.
He was living at the St. Louis Hotel at the time because it was close to his job at Uptown Locksmith which was in the same strip of shops as Let's Do Lunch, the catering company where Maureen worked.
'You shouldn't feel guilty'
On the night of March 28, 1995, Bernard said that after flirting during a smoke break, he was invited to return later in the night.
"I took it to understand we were going to have sex," said Bernard.
The pair had sex in Maureen's van, according to Bernard. Afterwards, she felt guilty, he said.
"I told her: 'don't, I don't feel guilty, you shouldn't feel guilty,'" said Bernard. "She was upset, so I left."
Bernard said he walked home and when he returned to work in the morning, the area was taped off by police. He said he needed to get to his work van and police let him in the contained area after taking down his personal information.
The rumour among the neighbouring businesses, said Bernard, was that Let's Do Lunch had been robbed. He said he believed his locksmith shop sent a card.
Maureen's handwritten account
In her handwritten statement to police after she was raped, Maureen wrote that her attacker asked that he be called "Rafael," had a french accent and referred to her as "you Canadians."
Bernard said he was born in Canada, does not speak French and never asked Maureen to refer to him as "Rafael."
Maureen told police she'd been working alone at Let's Do Lunch where she was preparing food at night for the next day. The night she was raped, Maureen wrote that she heard banging at the back door.
After opening the door, Maureen wrote that a stranger shoved his way inside, had her dump out her purse and then took Maureen's van keys before forcing her in the back of the vehicle. He drove to the outskirts of town and raped her.
Police interact with Bernard at crime scene
Maureen told investigators she was then forced out of the van and ran to the roadside for help, waiving down two passersby who picked up the frantic woman, drove her home and called police.
Bernard said he is not the one who forced Maureen into the van that night, that their sex were consensual and that the two were "friends."
After the incident in March 1995, Bernard said he continued to work as a locksmith and still bought food from Let's Do Lunch.
In her cross-examination, prosecutor Pam McCluskey suggested it was very unlikely Maureen would go outside for a smoke in the rough neighbourhood when she was allowed to smoke inside her shop.
Bernard arrested 20 years later
The first police investigation didn't result in any charges and the case went cold. It wasn't until a cold case detective took another look at the evidence and sent some of the items from Maureen's case to the lab for testing.
Ultimately, DNA from Maureen's rape kit came back matching Bernard. There was also a DNA hit from an unused condom found in her van.
Bernard was arrested in 2015 while living in Ontario and has been in custody since.
On Tuesday Crown and defence lawyers will make their final arguments. Jurors will then receive their final instructions on the law before being sequestered until a verdict is reached.
- MORE CALGARY NEWS | 'A mother's worst nightmare:' 6-year-old girl and her father found dead in Red Deer home
- MORE CALGARY NEWS | Lethbridge police seek 2 men suspected of sexual assault in alley