Sexual assault trial: Ex-mayor’s complex love life described in detail

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The former mayor of Woodstock fidgeted nervously with a face mask in the corner of the London police interview room as an investigator investigated the matter.

“I’m just curious: why do you think she’s coming to us now about this?” London police sergeant Patrick Morrissey told Trevor Birtch about months-old allegations of assault and sexual violence. “Has anything changed or happened that could shed light on this investigation?”

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Birtch said with a sniff and a slight giggle, “A woman scorned.”

This small excerpt from Birtch’s February 2, 2022, police statement was played at his Superior Court trial on Wednesday during cross-examination by Assistant State Attorney Artem Orlov, putting the ex-politician in hot water.

Birtch has pleaded not guilty to one count of assault and two counts of sexual assault, which date back to 2021 when he was involved with a 45-year-old woman who claims she was abused on three separate occasions.

Orlov said the woman was telling the truth, and Birtch wanted to portray the woman as “clingy, irresponsible and irrational” and “make her look really bad” to support his story that he had done nothing wrong.

“No, that’s not my intention. That’s the truth,” Birtch said. “I wasn’t being inaccurate.”

While the evidence now rests with Judge Michael Carnegie, it emerged during this week’s trial that the former mayor, who suffered a crushing defeat in the 2022 election after two terms in office, had a complicated love life.

Birtch was separated from his wife of twenty years at the time of the relationship. His wife testified that Birtch assaulted her twice when she refused to perform a particular sexual act and once when she consented but was unable to withdraw her consent during the sexual act.

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She told the court that her relationship with Birtch from April 2020 to December 2021 was marked by violence and alcohol abuse.

Birtch testified that the woman was violent and possessive and often threw “tantrums” when he had contact with other women. Often, he said, her obsessive behavior was fueled by alcohol.

Orlov suggested during cross-examination that 2021 must have been a rough year for Birtch due to his divorce proceedings and balancing his duties as mayor with a part-time job as a driver. Birtch said it had been “a good year, other than that situation.”

Orlov said there were a number of stressors in Birtch’s life and “she just freaked out.”

“I disagree,” Birtch said.

Birtch has described several violent altercations with the woman. He says she punched him in the face, giving him a black eye, and threatened that bikers would take care of him if he ended their relationship. At no point did Birtch seek medical help or go to the police, the court heard.

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During the police interview, Morrissey specifically asked if the woman was his girlfriend. Birtch told the officer the woman was “a girlfriend.”

This was another example of Birtch trying to downplay the relationship, Orlov said. Birtch said that was wrong.

“The nature of our relationship was not exclusive,” Birtch said.

Orlov presented friendly text messages Birtch had sent to the woman – a holiday greeting on December 25, 2021, and another on January 1, 2022 – that were sent after an alleged break-in into his bedroom a few weeks earlier.

He agreed that he and the woman had met in person once, during which he gave her gifts. There were also messages in which she indicated that she could “drop by” his place, but that, Birtch said, meant she would have to hand over some of his personal items that were still in her possession.

Birtch said he had sent the same greetings to other people and in the woman’s case he had hoped that (the relationship) was OK and would resolve itself.

The court on Wednesday also heard testimony from Birtch’s 18-year-old son Ben, who was living with his father in December 2021 when he had to escort the woman out of the house.

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He said it was a school day. He was sleeping in his downstairs bedroom when he heard his father yelling “Get out!” from his upstairs bedroom.

The son said he quickly got dressed and heard his father say, “Look what you did. You woke Ben up.”

The son ran into the bedroom and just saw a television fall over and the woman hide behind the television table. His father caught the television and put it on the bed.

The son said he walked up to the woman, lifted her to her feet by the shoulders and told her to “get out.” He escorted her out of a room but had her come back to get her shoes and bag before following her outside.

He said he knew the woman as his father’s “girlfriend” but did not know the two were together.

The closing arguments of the prosecution and the defense are expected on Thursday morning.

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