‘She never said no to me once,’ military cop tells his sex-assault court martial

HALIFAX – A Halifax-based military policeman facing a sexual assault charge says a female officer didn’t object at any point during sex he believes was consensual.

Sgt. Kevin MacIntyre took the stand in his own defence Thursday at his military court martial hearing.

MacIntyre has pleaded not guilty to a sexual assault charge resulting from an alleged incident on Sept. 27, 2015, at a Glasgow, Scotland, hotel during a Royal Canadian Navy exercise.

The complainant told the five-man military panel Monday that she told MacIntyre “No,” several times as she was forced to continually remove his hand from her lower extremities “10 to 15 times.”

On Thursday, defence lawyer David Bright asked his client: “What if anything can you say about her saying ‘no, no, no’?”

“She never said no to me once,” MacIntyre replied.

Bright asked whether the woman said, “Stop, you are hurting me.”

“She didn’t say that,” said MacIntyre.

“What can you say as to your thoughts on whether (the complainant) was consenting to sex between the two of you?” Bright asked.

“I thought she was consenting,” MacIntyre said. “She was consenting.”

Bright asked whether the complainant was so drunk that she couldn’t consent.

“Absolutely not … I thought she was consenting,” said MacIntyre.

MacIntyre denied sneaking into the complainant’s hotel room. He repeated much of what he told police during a videotaped statement on June 28, 2016, that had been played in court on Wednesday.

He said he knocked on the officer’s door while looking for a black jacket that contained his room key, identification, and close to $1,000 in Euros. He said he was panicked because he couldn’t find it at the restaurant where he and the complainant had been drinking earlier with other Forces members.

MacIntyre said the officer let him in and he found the jacket which had been left near the bed earlier, after he and another female officer had escorted the complainant back to her room.

He said he used the washroom and soon after ended up lying down with the complainant as they chatted.

MacIntyre said they fell asleep for about two hours. He said they woke up close to each other and then took their clothes off before having sex.

The female officer made a formal complaint in March of 2016. The woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, testified Monday she awoke to find MacIntyre in her bed and didn’t know how he had gotten into her room.

She said she didn’t want to have sex, but he eventually penetrated her while she lay on her stomach. The complainant said she believes she “just froze.”

In earlier testimony Thursday, the naval officer in immediate command of the unit said the female officer only offered a “partial recollection” of an alleged sexual assault, and did not want to proceed with charges.

He said he met with the complainant and another officer who had been with her and MacIntyre earlier.

“There was no firm recollection; they admitted that there was a large amount of alcohol consumed,” he said under questioning by Bright.

The commander said he asked the female officer a number of times whether she wanted to proceed with a formal complaint and she said no because she didn’t want her husband to know about what happened.

He said he did not approach MacIntyre about the allegation.

“I wasn’t comfortable and because it was a partial recollection,” he said.

He told the court that he formed no conclusion at the time as to MacIntyre’s guilt or innocence. Still, he ended up redeploying him because of the complainant’s obvious discomfort.

He said she was looked withdrawn and wasn’t eating.

The officer said he informed his superior officer, who supported his plan to send MacIntyre ahead of the small team to the next port of call.

During cross examination, prosecutor Maj. Larry Langlois asked the witness what he meant by partial recollection.

“The things she mentioned she was clear about — she had no hesitation about those things?” Langlois asked.

“There was some I think,” the witness replied.

“So the information you received was sufficient to take some action?” asked Langlois.

“It was sufficient,” the commanding officer replied.

The defence also presented a series of witnesses who testified to MacIntyre’s character, describing him as honest, trustworthy, and a good husband and father.

MacIntyre is scheduled to be cross examined by the prosecution on Friday.