N.W.T. man found guilty of sexual assaults against 2 women at his Ndilo home
Peter Tsetta was acquitted of 1 charge of forcible confinement in N.W.T. Supreme Court
A Ndilo, N.W.T., man was found guilty Friday of two violent sexual assaults against two separate women at his home two summers ago. He was also found guilty on one of two charges of forcible confinement.
Peter Tsetta, 50, was originally charged with four counts: sexual assault and forcible confinement against a woman in May 2017; and sexual assault and forcible confinement against a second woman in June 2017.
The identity of both women is protected by a court publication ban.
Tsetta, wearing a white, long-sleeved cotton shirt and black sweatpants, sat passively for most of the session but turned to the courtroom and shook his head as N.W.T. Supreme Court Justice Louise Charbonneau gave an overview of one of the allegations against him.
Overall, Charbonneau said she had "serious concerns" about the reliability of key aspects of Tsetta's testimony, and found the testimonies of the two women to be largely corroborated.
May assault
The victim in the May assault died in December 2018.
According to her statement to police, she was drinking downtown when she ran into Tsetta, an ex-partner with whom she had remained close friends since they broke up.
He invited her to his Ndilo home to share a bottle of Private Stock. She blacked out and woke up on his bed with him on top of her. She said he placed a hand on her mouth to keep her from screaming when somebody knocked on his bedroom door.
When the woman was eventually able to leave, she went straight to a nearby boarding house. She asked the person at reception to call the police, but left before they arrived.
It took weeks for police to find the woman and convince her to give her statement at the detachment, but that finally happened in July 2017.
Tsetta, who testified in his own defence, agreed with multiple points of the woman's story, including that they met downtown and continued to drink back at his house.
His story diverged from hers when he said she eyed a bag of women's clothes on the floor and started grilling him about who they belonged to. He testified she flew into a jealous rage at that point.
Charbonneau said Tsetta's testimony made "no sense."
"It's completely implausible, after four hours of drinking, she would suddenly notice this bag on the floor and look through it," she said, adding testimony from the receptionist at the boarding house indicated the woman was not angry, but emotional.
Tsetta was acquitted on the charge of confinement. That charge rested on the fact Tsetta placed his hand over the woman's mouth to keep her from screaming when somebody knocked on the door.
Charbonneau said it wasn't clear to her that this act is distinct from the assault itself, instead describing it as an "aggravating feature."
June assault
The second woman who accused Tsetta of sexual assault was in the courtroom to hear Charbonneau's verdict.
During the trial, she testified that she was drinking at home when she decided to go out and find more alcohol.
She was drinking with friends downtown when she ran into Tsetta, who she described as a close friend. He invited her back to his place to drink Private Stock. She passed out, and woke up to Tsetta raping her.
Waffling on such a simple point is striking and disturbing.- N.W.T. Supreme Court Justice Louise Charbonneau
This went on for some time. At one point, she made it to the bedroom door, which was locked. He dragged her back to bed and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
Eventually the woman was able to leave. She went home to her spouse, who found her to be visibly distressed. She didn't tell him what happened until the next day, when she went to the hospital for a sexual assault examination.
A DNA expert later testified there was no DNA found as a result of that examination that could be compared to Tsetta. Charbonneau found this to be a neutral factor in her decision, due to several other factors that could have led to a lack of DNA evidence, according to the expert testimony.
Charbonneau said Tsetta's testimony was "confused and confusing" when it came to certain questions, including the way the lock on his bedroom door functioned.
"It's an important detail," she said. "Waffling on such a simple point is striking and disturbing in this case," she said.
As he was led out of court by an RCMP officer, Tsetta swore at the woman who accused him and she swore back.
Court will reconvene for sentencing on Aug. 19.