Former Woodstock Mayor testifies in second sex assault trial, denies allegations of rape and cocaine use

Former mayor testifies in sexual assault trial The sexual assault trial of former Woodstock mayor Trevor Birtch continues in London – CTV's Reta Ismail reports.

The trial of former Woodstock Mayor Trevor Birtch continued inside a London Courtroom on Monday.

The 49 year old is facing three counts of sexual assault dating between 2017 and 2022.

Defence lawyer James Battin continued his cross-examination by asking the complainant if she ever contacted the police about the non-consensual intercourse allegations early on in their relationship, to which she replied ‘no’.

“Despite the abuse you told the court about, despite the fact that you told court he raped you, you continued to see him?”

The complainant said, ‘Yes sir.’

After a brief break, court resumed with Birtch taking the stand. He testified that he initially met the complainant back in 2002 through church, but it wasn’t until 2017 that they reconnected and developed a relationship.

He was married at the time and serving his first term as Mayor of Woodstock.

Birtch was asked to recall the events from August 15, 2021 and April 5, 2022.

He is facing two separate counts of sexual assault for alleged incidents that occurred on each of those dates.

His testimony differed greatly from the complainants - he denied using illegal drugs and drinking heavily with the complainant.

Although Birtch admitted to using cocaine in his past ‘socially,’ he said that the complainant’s allegations of excessive cocaine use was actually crushed Aleve - an over-the-counter drug he used for pain relief from a shoulder injury.

“I had baggies with powder in it, Aleve, ground up to take nasally,” he testified.

He denied using cocaine during council meetings, saying the complainant was never present during any council sessions. He alleged the complainant would go into his briefcase and take some of the crushed Aleve, (Naproxen) thinking it was cocaine.

He was questioned about the first witness in this case, an ex-friend who shared voice text messages between the two of them, in which Birtch could be heard describing a disturbing sexual encounter in an attic.

He claimed the voice messages that have been played during the trial were requested by the woman over the phone, so that she could write a fictional book.

He alleged the ex-friend turned against him. "I had told her that I had met someone that I loved, that might be what set her off against me,” he testified.

Birtch denied ever sexually assaulting the complainant.

Last month, the 49 year old was found guilty on two separate charges of assault and sexual assault involving another woman.

He is scheduled to be sentenced for those charges tomorrow, Tuesday, September 10, 2024.