WARNING: This story references sexual assault and thoughts of suicide.
Defence lawyers for Hamilton police Const. Jeffrey Turnbull continued their cross-examination of the woman accusing him of sexual assault in March 2022, questioning the timeline and selection of text messages between the two colleagues that were sent in the early months of that year.
Turnbull has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the 28-year-old police constable, whose identity is protected by a publication ban.
She said he sent her inappropriate messages and touched her without consent over a four-month period before sexually assaulting her in the basement of his home.
The trial, before the Ontario Court of Justice in Hamilton, began Tuesday. Justice Jennifer Marie Campitelli is hearing the case.
Earlier this week, the woman recounted in greater detail what she says occurred that year. On Thursday, defence lawyer Joanne Mulcahy asked the complainant about a series of text message screenshots she provided to police investigators after reporting Turnbull in April 2022.
During Crown lawyer Jason Nicol’s questioning of the woman on Tuesday, the court heard the woman made the screenshot selections. Neither Hamilton police nor provincial Special Investigations Unit investigators went through her phone.
Mulcahy asked the woman about the order of screenshots she supplied, noting the times on one page did not make sense.
After some discussion, the woman agreed the page was out of order.
Later, when discussing messages Turnbull and the woman exchanged about his dog, Mulcahy asked why more messages weren’t included in the screenshots. The woman said she didn’t think they were relevant.
Defence says Turnbull apologized by text, gave gifts
The defence lawyer also asked about texts the court viewed, as well as an in-person conversation the woman recounted in which she told Turnbull she’d heard rumours about his behaviour with women.
The woman said she made it clear to Turnbull she didn’t want him talking about her to other people and wanted distance from him. She told the court he would message her daily and send her inappropriate comments, such as calling her “just sexy.”
Mulcahy said distance did not come up in the conversation and the two just discussed rumours.
After that conversation, Mulcahy said, messages showed Turnbull apologizing, agreeing to tone things down and trying to cheer the woman up by giving her gifts including soap and a pillow to help with a back injury she had.
“He did not tone it down,” the woman said.
Woman kept messaging Turnbull back, defence says
Mulcahy read another text in which Turnbull asked her to let him know if she wanted him to stop messaging her.
“You don’t send a text asking him to stop talking to you, do you?” Mulcahy asked.
“I do not,” the woman said.
In another instance, Turnbull asked over text if she wanted him to stop messaging her.
“You don’t say yes or send a text to that effect,” Mulcahy said.
“No, because I am not required to,” the woman responded.
On Tuesday, the woman said Turnbull gave her “many” gifts, including the soap, which she said he left in her mailbox.
On Thursday, Mulcahy read from text screenshots, indicating, in fact, the soap was in Turnbull’s mail slot. The woman said that was her mistake.
Mulcahy asked if it was nice of Turnbull to give the woman soap. She said it made her “uncomfortable.”
Mulcahy said she never texted that to Turnbull or told investigators she said that. Mulcahy read screenshots showing the woman responding: ‘All good,’ then said: “You don’t say stop texting me.”
Earlier in the week, the woman, who had been hired in 2021, told the court she was worried about her career during the course of their interaction because Turnbull “had a ton of seniority” over her.
Defence suggests a friendly relationship
The lawyer suggested the two police officers would send each other memes (humorous photos or videos that often circulate on social media platforms), music and talk about their lives.
Mulcahy said Turnbull sent the woman a link to a physiotherapy and rehab business in Ancaster to help with her back. The woman said that didn’t happen. Then, Mulcahy showed the court what she described as a recovered Snapchat message history showing he had.
By default, most messages sent over Snapchat automatically disappear.
Mulcahy also read out text messages from Feb. 15 in which the woman talked to Turnbull about re-adding her on Snapchat. He said he deleted her contact so he wouldn’t bug her, to which she responded: “Lol rude.”
“He’s deleted you. You seek him out,” Mulcahy said.
“If that’s how you want to look at it,” the woman responded.
She told the court she had to respond to Turnbull “because if I didn’t, my life at work got a lot worse.”
On Tuesday, she said Turnbull talked about killing himself if she stopped responding.
Defence reviews work schedules
Mulcahy went through the woman’s February work schedule in an attempt to verify what she says occurred in the office. The schedule showed her assigned to field work or off most of the month.
The woman told the court that in early February, she was working modified office duties in the police station when Turnbull touched her thigh without consent. Later that month, she said, he kissed her in the office.
The woman said some days, she was assigned to field work, then reassigned to office work.
Mulcahy also suggested several interactions occurred between Turnbull and the woman that the woman denied. These included sexting, her telling him she’d like to know what it would be like to kiss him, her showing him photos of herself in a bikini, sending him selfies on Snapchat and sending her a photo of herself bathing. Mulcahy has not yet presented evidence to back up those claims.
The trial continues Friday.
For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database.
