A civilian court trial of a Canadian soldier accused of sexual assault and forcible confinement against a female military member, which allegedly occurred at Canadian Forces Base Borden in 2018, is underway at the Barrie courthouse this week.
Cpl. Oleksii Silin, 44, was charged by police after Elvira Jaszberenyi, 60, came forward to military police in May 2018 claiming she had been sexually assaulted and confined against her will in a broom closet by Silin.
On Tuesday, Jaszberenyi took the stand for the second day, as defence lawyer Mitchell Worsoff continued with his cross-examination.
A publication ban protecting Jaszberenyi’s identity was removed at her request in September 2023.
The military’s justice system declined to pursue the case against Silin, citing a lack of training and experience by members conducting the interviews with the complainant and Silin.
In response to Worsoff’s questioning on Tuesday surrounding Silin’s texts to her prior to the alleged incident, which involved sexual innuendo to which she replied, Jaszberenyi told the court, “This is an example of what women go through in the military. I mean, how do you respond to these sexualized messages? … You brush it off, laugh it off.”
She testified that a crude sense of humour and language is in the military’s “culture” and how members behave, “which is how we get rid of our stress.”
Responding to texts such as these from other members “is the only way to survive in the military,” Jaszberenyi said.
Worsoff and Jaszberenyi argued at length during her questioning over the interpretation, context and tone of the texts between her and Silin.
Jaszberenyi accused Silin of taking her by the hand and “pulling her” into a broom closet next his room.
She testified he then tried to remove her clothing while in the dark closet.
“I thought he was joking; a practical joke,” Jaszberenyi testified. “I said, ‘No.’”
She said Silin “forced himself on me and French-kissed me. I pushed him away.”
In his questioning, Worsoff referred to the ensuing “intercourse” between the two in the closet.
“I could not keep him off me at this point, and he was getting angry … I wouldn’t call it intercourse,” Jaszberenyi testified. “It was rape.”
She called the incident “the opposite of a romantic situation.”
Worsoff challenged her original testimony during police interviews after the incident, saying there were “discrepancies,” and noted Jaszberenyi said at the time that she took off her own clothing during the incident, and that she kissed him, suggesting there was consent.
Worsoff said, “You didn’t raise your voice or scream, and that’s because you didn’t want to wake somebody up, you said in your statement as well.”
“I believe I also said that I was embarrassed,” Jaszberenyi replied. “I did not want to be caught in that situation. It was the men’s floor, and I did not know who was out there, but if I were to scream, are people going to help me, or do the opposite? So, no, I did not scream. I just wanted to get the hell out of there.”
The trial is scheduled to resume on Thursday at the Barrie courthouse.
