Court hears final evidence in former military leader Edmundson’s sex assault trial

OTTAWA — Lawyers for former military leader Haydn Edmundson wrapped up the evidentiary portion of his defence Wednesday, setting the stage for closing arguments in April in the retired vice-admiral’s sexual assault trial. 

Edmundson has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and indecent exposure in a case that dates back to 1991, when he and the complainant were deployed together on a navy ship. 

The woman, who cannot be named because of a court-ordered publication ban, testified last week that Edmundson was a senior officer and she was in the navy’s lowest rank at the time of the alleged assault. 

She said one of her responsibilities on board the ship was to wake officers for night watch and other overnight duties, and that she woke Edmundson regularly during that 1991 deployment. 

The court has heard conflicting evidence about those wake-up calls. 

The complainant said on the stand that she estimates she woke Edmundson every second or third night, and his behaviour became progressively worse during the deployment. 

She told the court he started sleeping naked and she would see parts of his body, and that one night she found him completely exposed on top of the sheets. 

The woman said she “went berserk,” yelling at him and turning on the lights to wake the other officer sleeping in the top bunk. She said it was one or two days later that he stopped her in the corridor and called her into his sleeping quarters to talk.

The woman said she thought she would apologize for yelling and leave, but Edmundson kept her in the room and sexually assaulted her. 

Edmundson took the stand on Monday and denied he had physical or sexual contact with the woman. 

During his testimony, Edmundson said the woman did not wake him regularly during that deployment because his role as the ship’s navigator kept him on mostly day shifts. 

To back that up, defence lawyer Brian Greenspan introduced evidence collected from the captain’s night order book, an informal but official record of night watches and other activities on the ship. It listed Edmundson on night watch infrequently during the 1991 deployment.

But on Wednesday, another witness explained that Edmundson’s duties required him to be up at night for other reasons. 

David Anderson, a retired Armed Forces member who was also part of the 1991 deployment, told the court that the navy still navigated using the stars at the time. 

He said Edmundson trained him and other officers in astronavigation during the deployment, and those overnight training sessions happened several times a week. 

Anderson was the final witness for the defence in the case. 

Edmundson was one of several senior military leaders accused of sexual misconduct in early 2021. 

That led to an external review by former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour in May 2022, calling for sweeping changes to reform the culture of the Armed Forces.

Edmundson stepped down from his position as head of military personnel when the accusation against him was made public in 2021. The charges were laid months later, in December 2021.

Edmundson testified that in February 2022, he was directed by the chief of the defence staff to retire from the Armed Forces.

The Crown and defence are set to give closing arguments in the trial on April 11 in Ottawa. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2024.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press