A defence lawyer has argued that a sexual encounter between former Vancouver Canucks forward Jake Virtanen and the woman accusing him of sexual assault was consensual.
The 23-year-old woman 鈥� whose identity is protected by a publication ban 鈥� told a B.C. Supreme Court earlier this week that she repeatedly said 鈥渘o鈥� before Virtanen allegedly sexually assaulted her in a hotel room in downtown Vancouver in September 2017.
Virtanen鈥檚 lawyer Brock Martland continued his cross-examination of the woman on Wednesday, challenging her version of events.
鈥淚 want to suggest to you that, in fact, when you went up to Mr. Virtanen鈥檚 hotel room at the Westin Bayshore, that you went there to have sex with him and that you did have consensual sexual intercourse with him,鈥� Martland said.
鈥淣o,鈥� the woman replied.
Virtanen, 25, was charged with one count of sexual assault in January following an investigation by Vancouver police.
The court has heard that he and the woman met at the Calgary Stampede in 2017, exchanged numbers and stayed in touch through text messages and direct messages on Instagram when they both returned home to B.C.
The woman drove to Vancouver to visit family and friends, and do a photo shoot in 2017, and messaged Virtanen about meeting. He picked her up from her friend鈥檚 house and took her to his hotel room.
The woman grew emotional Wednesday when Martland suggested she could have offered up an excuse for why she couldn鈥檛 have sex.
鈥淵ou didn鈥檛 invent an excuse to him, whether it鈥檚 鈥業 have a yeast infection,鈥� 鈥業鈥檓 menstruating,鈥� 鈥業 can鈥檛鈥�? You didn鈥檛 come up with something?鈥� he said.
鈥淚 thought saying 鈥楴o, I don鈥檛 want to do this. I seriously don鈥檛 want to do this,鈥� holding my hands on his hips, pushing him off me, was enough,鈥� she said.
鈥淲hat more do you have to say? Do I have to write it out for him, saying 鈥業鈥檝e said no, I鈥檓 saying no鈥�? I don鈥檛 know what else to do.鈥�
The woman did not go to police in September 2017.
In April 2021, she posted her story to an Instagram page for survivors of sexual assault, then spoke with a reporter from Glacier Media for a newspaper story, naming Virtanen as the man who allegedly sexually assaulted her.
He was a right-winger for the Vancouver Canucks at the time.
The woman used Virtanen鈥檚 name in order to draw attention to the story, Martland said.
鈥淏y naming him, you knew you鈥檇 bring forward, you鈥檇 instigate an enormous amount of shaming and anger directed at him,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 wanted him to be held accountable, yes,鈥� she replied. 鈥淗e created this by what he did. Had he accepted 鈥榥o鈥� for an answer, I would have left. None of this would have happened.鈥�
鈥淒o you hate Jake Virtanen?鈥� Martland asked.
鈥淗onestly, yes,鈥� she said.
The Canucks placed Virtanen on leave in May 2021 after the allegations were made public. The team bought out his contract the following month.
He last played for Spartak Moscow in the Russian-based Kontinental Hockey League.
The trial is set to continue on Thursday.
鈥擥emma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
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