Former military medic James Wilks, who is facing 26 sexual assault and breach of trust charges spanning six years and involving 16 different women, faced two of his accusers in London on Tuesday.
The court martial was moved to London from Quebec to accommodate the witnesses.
The former petty officer didn't speak to anyone except his lawyer as he arrived this morning at the HMCS Prevost in London where the prosecution wrapped up its testimony.
Prosecution counsel, Maj. Dylan Kerr, says “Certainly we've achieved what we set out to achieve.”
The prosecution called the last of 16 witnesses. The two in London allege they were sexually assaulted by Wilks during recruitment medicals for the armed forces.
Kerr adds “But they've all described various situations in which they were asked to either submit to a breast examination or to show their breast for visual examination.”
Those examinations, according to the prosecution, aren't part of recruit medicals.
But the defence says those examinations never happened. A big part of cross examination was questioning the witnesses’ credibility.
Maj. David Hodson, defence counsel, says “Credibility is always an issue. Especially in sexual assault trials, and there's a specific standards or tests that the judge will have to apply to the evidence that's been heard. [It's] always an issue.”
The defense also said the witnesses were accusing Wilks for financial gain. Both have filed suit against the Department of National Defence for $1.4 million.
Hodson says “I'm not going to comment on that.”
Wilks was convicted of sexual assault and breach of trust in 2011 and sentenced to nine months in jail.
The court martial will continue in London for the rest of this week.
As the prosecution wrapped up their case, the defense, if they decide to present a case, gets started Wednesday. It's not yet known if Wilks will take the stand.
