Verdict in double sexual assault trial of Ndilo, N.W.T., man coming in August

A Ndilo, N.W.T., man accused of two sexual assaults will have to wait another month and a half for a verdict.

The prosecutor and defence gave closing arguments in the trial of Peter Charlie Tsetta on Wednesday. The 50-year-old is accused of raping two women in separate incidents, in May and June2017.

Prosecutor Annie Piche said Tsetta and the two complainants largely agree about what happened up until the point where the complainants say they were sexually assaulted; they went to his house to continue drinking after meeting him downtown.

Both complainants knew Tsetta. Court heardthey were all part of a group of people, manyof whom were addicted to alcohol, that drinks and socializes in downtown Yellowknife.

Tsetta's lawyer, Evan McIntyre, said his client's account of what happened during those two encounters withstood Piche's cross-examination.

McIntyre said a big issueduring thetrial was that he did not have the opportunity to question the complainant who alleged she was attacked in May of 2017. Thatwoman died in December. Statements she had givento police and at Tsetta's preliminary inquiry were admitted at the trial.

McIntyre said he would have asked her many questions about her level of intoxication, about a woman she said accompanied her to Tsetta's home that night, and why she said nothing about what happened to a friend whose home she went to just hours after the alleged assault.

McIntyre said the testimony of both women was influenced by rumours they heard about Tsetta sexually assaulting other women.

"Their view of his reputation informs their unreliable testimony," he told the judge.

Defence says no DNA found

The RCMP attempted to gather DNA evidence linking Tsetta to the June attack but found none, McIntyre said. He said it was unlikely there would be no DNA evidence of an attack which, according to the complainant, went on for hours.

Piche told the court Tsetta was not a credible witness and was evasive on key points but, tellingly, had a precise memory of how much he and the women drank on the days of the alleged attacks.

She said his account of how his night of drinking with the woman who went to his house in May ended didn't add up. Tsettatestified that the womanleft in a jealous rage after noticing a bag of women's clothing on the floor. Piche said it did not make sense that she would have only noticed it after hours of talking and drinking.

Tsetta described the woman as angry and belligerent, but the night watchman at a boarding house she went to from Tsetta's house minutes later said she was upset and crying.

The woman Tsetta isaccused of sexually assaulting in Junewas treated for injuries to her vagina the day after the alleged assault. Piche said the only explanation for the injuriesis the one the woman gave that they were the result of Tsetta's attack.

"There's no plausible way those injuries could have been caused by anything else," said Piche.

Tsetta remains in custody. N.W.T. Supreme Court Justice Louise Charbonneau said she will give her verdict Aug. 9.