Trial begins for man accused of sexually assaulting two women

A Yellowknife woman says she was held for hours and repeatedly raped by a man who had been a trusted friend for more than 25 years.

The woman, who is in her late 40s, wept from time to time as she testified on the first day of the trial of Peter Charlie Tsetta. He's accused of sexually assaulting her and refusing to let her leave his home in June of 2017.

Tsetta, 50, is also being tried on the same charges in connection with an alleged attack on another woman the month before. That woman died in December. Prosecutor Annie Piche said she is going to apply to use statements the woman gave at Tsetta's preliminary inquiry and to police, during the trial.

Tsetta had been charged with sexually assaulting another woman in March, but that charge has since been stayed. He was out on bail on those charges at the time of the attack alleged to have happened in June.

Justice Louise Charbonneau banned the publication of any information that could identify either of the complainants.

Woman told she'd be safe

Tsetta and the two women are members of the small but tightly-knit group of people, many of whom are addicted to alcohol, who spend their days on the downtown streets of Yellowknife. The woman who testified Monday said she saw Tsetta almost every day, and drank with him often.

She said the morning of June 17, 2017 she began drinking at home before 9 a.m. and had consumed a bottle of sherry by about noon. She said there was no more alcohol in the home but she wanted to continue drinking. She headed to the place where she knew she would find some of her street friends with alcohol, Centre Square Mall.

She said that's where she met Tsetta. He had a mickey of vodka and the two drank and joked around. "After that he told me to come down to his house and sit around and drink," recalled the woman. "He told me, 'Don't worry, I'll be safe.'"

She said she paid for a cab to Tsetta's Ndilo home and the two sat around consuming more vodka and joking. She said the next thing she remembers is waking up in his bed with him on top of her having sex with her.

"I started fighting with him to get him off me," she said. "I punched him in the head. He punched me in the head a few times. I was telling him, 'Why are you doing this to me?' He wouldn't say anything. All he would do is laugh at me."

The woman said she managed to get away from Tsetta once and ran to the front door, wearing only her shirt. But she said she could not open the door. She said the assault continued for hours, until she begged him to stop and promised not have him charged or tell anyone about it. She said Tsetta released a lock on top of the door to unlock it.

"I just took off running," she said. "I was terrified. All I could think of is putting distance between me and that house."

Tsetta's lawyer focused on the woman's level of intoxication that day. She admitted that she and her common-law partner have argued about her drinking. She said she was moderately intoxicated when she left her home to go downtown.

When the lawyer asked her if she had had any concerns about going to Tsetta's place to continue drinking, she said, "We've been friends for over 25 years. Why wouldn't I feel safe? Why would I be concerned?"

Prosecutor Piche said a total of five police officers and five civilian witnesses, including a DNA expert, are expected to testify during the trial. Tsetta elected to be tried by a judge with no jury. The trial is scheduled to continue for the rest of the week, then resume for two days on June 11.