Soldier did not rape recruit, Edmonton jury told

A soldier accused of sexually assaulting a young recruit in July 2004 told an Edmonton jury on Thursday that he did not rape her.

Rather, the young woman made advances toward him, Master Cpl. Orman Savage said.

Savage, 40, is accused of sexually assaulting the woman, then 21, in a bathroom stall at a military party in Edmonton. Her identity is protected by a publication ban.

In his testimony, Savage said a female soldier called him to the stall because the young woman who later accused him of raping her was throwing up after having too much to drink. Savage sent the soldier to get help.

The young recruit fell backwards while she was hunched over the toilet vomiting, Savage told the jury. As he helped her up, she threw her arms around his neck and said, "I've been wanting to do this for a long time."  Then she tried to kiss him, Savage said.

The woman's breath still smelled like vomit, and Savage felt no sexual attraction to her, the Court of Queen's Bench jury was told.

He then tried to back away, he said. That's when he fell over, banged his head and found himself sitting on the toilet.

The next thing he knew, the woman was straddling and groping him. "I didn't want that to happen," Savage said, adding that he asked her to get off of him.

When the Crown prosecutor asked why he didn't push the woman away, he replied that as a "farm boy," he didn't treat women that way.

"I was taught you don't hit girls. You don't push girls. You treat them with respect," he said.

In her testimony Monday, the woman said Savage sexually assaulted her in the bathroom stall. But she also told the jury that there was a great deal she couldn't remember because she blacked out and suffered a concussion after Savage slammed her head against a wall.

When Savage's lawyer, Brian Beresh, challenged her version of what happened during cross-examination, she became angry, saying, "I'm not going to sit here and take this."

She then added that she had been abandoned by the military for years.

Under cross-examination, the woman said she was getting $1,500 a month from Veterans' Affairs but had never wanted money.

"I'd give it all back to get this out of my head," she said as tears fell down her face. She yelled at Beresh and said he could take the money and "choke on it," adding, "I've been ruined by this."

The woman also told the jury that she has been receiving psychotherapy and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The jury has also heard testimony from other witnesses that on the night in question, military officers were serving drinks to underage recruits, who were celebrating after having completed a training course.

The case is expected to go to the jury Friday.