Canadian Forces soldier calls sex 'consensual' as he testifies in his defence

A Canadian Forces corporal on trial for sexual assault and forcible confinement testified in his defence Thursday, disputing key details around the alleged incident that occurred in a broom closet on a military base.

From the witness box, Cpl. Oleksii Silin presented a narrative on the third day of his trial that was starkly at odds with the testimony of the complainant, Elle Jaszberenyi, a former soldier who said the corporal forced her into a broom closet on CFB Borden in May 2018 and sexually assaulted her. 

"It was fully consensual from both sides," Silin testified in a Barrie, Ont., courtroom. "Sex was initiated by the complainant."

The names of sexual assault complainants are generally covered by publication bans during court proceedings. But Jaszberenyi, who is no longer with the Canadian Forces, requested the publication ban be lifted on her name. 

The Ontario Court of Justice trial, before Justice Robert Gattrell, is scheduled to continue on Nov. 22, with Silin's cross-examination and then closing submissions. 

Silin was charged after Jaszberenyi, 60, filed for a private prosecution in October 2022 and the Crown's office in Barrie agreed to take on the case. The private prosecution initially charged Silin with aggravated sexual assault and forcible confinement, however, the Crown elected to proceed with sexual assault and forcible confinement charges.

A private prosecution provides an avenue for the public to attempt to file charges against an individual without a police investigation if they believe a crime has been committed.

Jaszberenyi, who was a soldier at the time of the alleged incident, made the rare move after the military refused to prosecute her sexual assault allegation following a 2018 investigation.

Her attempts to reopen the case through the Military Police Complaints Commission, a quasi-judicial civilian oversight body, and the Federal Court also failed. 

'Guided' alleged victim into broom closet

Silin told the court that when he initially met Jaszberenyi on the night of the incident in the barracks at CFB Borden — a base that sits about 100 kilometers north of Toronto — she wore dark jeans and a high-collared sweatshirt with a zipper and two front pockets. He said she carried a bottle of wine that was mixed with vodka.

"From her pockets she removed two glasses, two plastic glasses," said Silin, who was born in Russia and served in the Ukrainian military.

In his testimony, Silin said he developed a close friendship with Jaszberenyi because they both joined the Canadian Forces at an advanced age; he was 38 and she in her 50s. Silin said he helped her throughout their training and that their conversations were often peppered with sexual innuendos, something that he said continued in the common room the night of the incident. 

"She opened the zipper [of her sweatshirt] and put the glass between her breasts and started laughing, 'That's a nice glass holder," he told the court. "And she asked me if I wanted to drink this way and I refused it and she put the glass in the garbage with the wine."

Jaszberenyi testified she wore a dress over a pair of tights with high, laced-up boots the night of the incident. Photographs of clothing Jaszberenyi said she wore, taken by military police investigators, were submitted as exhibits during the trial.  

In Silin's testimony, delivered under questioning by his lawyer Mitchell Worsoff, he said he briefly massaged Jaszberenyi's shoulders while she lay on a bench in the common room.

When they were about to part ways, Silin said he suggested that she walk in his direction, toward his room, and that they joked most of the way. He said she followed him to his room and that there was a broom closet nearby.

"I was in front of the broom closet and I said, 'Let's go there,'" he said. 

Silin said he "guided" her in without any force and that she put her hand on his. 

"For me it was exactly like a teenager and I was asking a girl for a dance at school, you give a hand, smiling and walking," he said. 

Silin then testified that their sexual intercourse in the broom closet was consensual, which was preceded by kissing and moments when they both removed or opened clothing. 

Jaszberenyi, meanwhile, testified earlier that she was pushed and pulled into the broom closet, at which point Silin turned aggressive and then sexually assaulted her.

Suffered from media coverage

Silin also testified that he received death threats over social media after CBC News reported on his case in December 2022. 

"Up to 100 text messages, threats ...  things like ... 'You have to die. We're gonna kill you with your family.'"

The media coverage also created additional stress for his wife and children, he said. Silin said he had to shut down a knife sharpening business and he stopped donating blood — something he did every couple of months.

"I just feel like everyone knows about this and everyone judged, you know?" he said. "I couldn't sleep."