Accused insists bondage consensual

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story includes descriptions of sexual assault and violence that some may find disturbing

Tyson Noel insisted Monday that sexual acts, including incidents of bondage, involving the complainant at his trial, were consensual.

During cross-examination by prosecutor Heidi Mitchell, he also maintained that he didn't physically abuse the young woman — that he never intentionally hit her, never punched, slapped or kicked her, never confined her in a corner and never threatened her with a knife.

"You never once shoved her?" the assistant Crown attorney asked the 23-year-old man as his jury trial entered its second week at the Sault Ste. Marie courthouse.

Noel replied there might have been pushes between the pair when they were engaged in "horseplay" which may have caused bruises on both of them.

He has pleaded not guilty to 16 charges, including five counts of sexual assault and six assault-related offences, that are alleged to have occurred in 2014 and 2015.

A publication ban prohibits reporting any information that could identify the complainant.

Mitchell referred to the times when Noel had indicated the woman had been tied to a bed during sex — something he said they had always discussed before anything took place.

On Friday, he told his lawyer Eric McCooeye that they would play fight and she would pretend not to want it.

The Crown asked Monday how he would know when she didn't want to to continue.

"She'd say 'no, stop,'" the accused responded. "If she said no it would mean we would stop."

He said he didn't recall the details of their conversations, but they had discussions every time they did it.

"If she said no, stop, that's when you would stop?" Mitchell asked.

"Yes," said Noel, who testified the woman had never said no during any of these occasions.

"Every time she was tied to the bed and she was fighting, it was okay with her,"  the prosecutor wondered.

"Yes" was the answer.

Mitchell questioned him about a sexual assault that the complainant had testified occurred in October 2015.

She noted that he had told the court on Friday this never happened, but referred him to a December 2017 affidavit where he had stated it was an issue of consent.

Noel agreed saying it never happened was different than saying it was consensual. 

"Both can't be true," Mitchell suggested. "One of these two statements given under oath is not true?"

The accused replied in the affirmative.

Noel denied that he was angry when he argued with the woman in the Essar Centre parking lot, insisting he was annoyed and frustrated. 

"So annoyed the only reaction was to smash (the key) remote on the ground?" he was asked by the Crown.

He agreed, but then indicated he wasn't so upset that he was smashing his fists on the dashboard of the vehicle and kicking the door.

Noel also rejected the complainant's contention that he had pulled her hair, and bit and kicked her with "it never happened."

The argument just calmed down, and went from smashing the remote to hugging, Mitchell asked.

"Yes," he told her.

The lawyers will make their closing submissions to the eight-woman, four-man jury Tuesday,

Superior Court Justice Edward Gareau will give his charge to the jurors Thursday, after which they will begin their deliberations.

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