Closing arguments in the sexual abuse trial of former Woodstock Mayor Trevor Birtch concluded Thursday.
Birtch, 49, was charged in February 2022 with two counts of sexual assault and one count of assault. He pleads not guilty to all charges.
The court heard from the woman who was in a relationship with Birtch in 2020 and 2021. Her name is protected under a publication ban.
She testified that on Valentine’s Day 2021, when she refused to perform a sex act, he allegedly pushed and kicked her out of the bed they shared at a spa. Another time in December 2021, she agreed, but when she decided she no longer wanted to continue, she claimed Birtch forced her to do so.
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The attack, she claims, happened in July 2021 while the two were driving through Oxford County. She claims Birtch pushed her out of his car after she refused to perform a sex act.
Birtch denied all allegations and said the woman was obsessive, irrational and prone to emotional outbursts. He claims she often drank heavily and threatened him with violence several times.
Judge Michael Carnegie will now review the evidence presented during the four-day trial and hand down his sentence later in the summer. Carnegie suggested several times during closing arguments that he would have liked to see more evidence to help make his decision.
No police reports or medical records were presented, and the only other witness to take the stand was Birtch’s 18-year-old son. Carnegie was instead asked by both the Crown and Defense to focus on the inconsistencies in the testimony.
The defense told the judge that the Crown’s case was heavily speculative and that the evidence presented was not sufficient to convict Birtch beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Crown, meanwhile, said the three events happened exactly as the woman described and that the only inconsistencies in the evidence come from what the defense presented.
A ruling on the trial is expected on August 8.
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