Man convicted of sexual assault over ‘joke’ at gas station

What an offender described as just “telling a joke” in court documents has netted him a sexual assault conviction in Regina.

The trial happened last month, over an incident that happened back in October.

According to the decision from Judge S. Schiefner, the man was a customer at a Regina gas station with “full serve” service.

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Schiefner said the victim’s age wasn’t established at trial, but he observed him to be a young adult, likely in his early 20s, and the man to be older.

In the incident, the man pulled up to the gas station and told the victim, ML, to put gas in his truck but not to leave the nozzle unattended. ML told court he thought the man was worried about gas spilling on his truck, so when another customer arrived, he shut off the gas, left the nozzle in the truck, helped the other customer, then returned to the truck to finish fuelling it.

When the man came back outside to his truck after paying, court documents say he criticized ML for how he filled the truck and appeared upset.

Court heard the man then insisted ML tell him a joke and, after first saying he didn’t know any, the attendant came up with one about Jesus and hockey.

In return, the man asked ML if he could “show” ML a joke. ML agreed, but the judge said he was satisfied the only reason ML agreed was to appease an angry customer.

The joke involved the man telling ML to put one arm up and his hand behind his back, calling it a “half-nelson”. The man then told ML to put his other arm up and hand behind his back, calling it a “full-nelson”.

“(The man) quickly moved around behind ML, grabbed him by the waist, and thrust his hips into ML’s buttocks. He did so twice,” read the court decision.

“ML testified that (the man) called this final stage of the joke a ‘Father Nelson,’ which ML understood to be a religious reference. ML also testified that (the man) said ‘this is my way of showing dominance’ after showing the joke to him.”

The man then got into his truck and left.

ML didn’t report what happened at first, but did mention it to a fellow employee.

The man came back the next day and told the other employee the same “joke,” but only mimed the action without touching her. Court heard that he told her he would do it to her, but she’s a girl.

The man then saw ML and said loudly that ML knew the joke and “that’s why he’s so grumpy.”

The employee said ML wasn’t acting like himself on the first or second day, and after ML explained what happened, they spoke to their supervisor, who helped them find the man’s name and surveillance tape that captured the end of the incident.

Eventually, the police were called, and a constable arrived a few days later to take statements and get a copy of the video.

At trial, the man’s lawyer tried to argue that ML had a motive to lie because he was upset the man had embarrassed him in front of his co-worker on the second day. However, the judge dismissed that idea, saying ML’s testimony was cogent and compelling.

In his decision, Schiefner went through each of the necessary pieces of a sexual assault – that such an assault requires physical contact, sexual nature in the contact and an absence of consent.

“While (the man) does not dispute that this contact occurred, (the man) argues that his actions were not sexual in nature – rather, he says he was merely telling a joke,” read the decision.

The man’s lawyer also argued that ML consented by allowing him to tell the joke.

Judge Schiefner rejected those arguments, saying it couldn’t be determined whether it was a joke or a way to humiliate ML, and it couldn’t be determined whether his actions were motivated by sexual gratification.

“The fact that the sexual act was simulated does not negate the violation of ML’s sexual integrity that occurred through (the man’s) actions,” wrote Schiefner.

And the judge said that ML consented to be shown a joke, not to be touched, and that consent can’t be manufactured through subterfuge.

“Simply put, ML did not consent to (the man’s) physical contact because he did not know that (the man) intended to initiate sexual contact with him,” read the decision.

The man was convicted of sexual assault, saying that joking or not, no consent means no touching.

The man will be sentenced on July 27 at 2 p.m. at Regina Provincial Court.