'I'm not backpedalling,' complainant insists at trial of lawyer Robert Regular

Warning: The content in this story involves allegations of sexual assault and the details may be disturbing to some.

In painstaking detail, defence lawyer Rosellen Sullivan walked her way through police statements, lawyer invoices, and previous comments made by the sole complainant in the case against her client, Robert Regular, checking off her paper as she went.

Sullivan and Jerome Kennedy are representing Regular, who is also a long-time lawyer. Regular's sexual assault trial resumed Tuesday at Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John's.

The complainant — now in her mid-30s and whose identity is covered by a publication ban — did her best not to look Sullivan in the eye during cross-examination. Instead, she directed her answers toward the bench where Justice Vikas Khaladkar has been presiding.

"When I went to give my statements, I was honest," the woman said, after about two hours of questioning from Sullivan.

"I wasn't misleading in any way and if I did get things mixed up it was because of the trauma from this whole process."

Regular is accused of sexually assaulting the woman on four separate occasions, beginning in 2001, when she was 12. He is also facing one count of sexual interference as a result of that alleged incident.

She has testified that she first met Regular while he was her mother's lawyer and was working to get her back into her mother's care from provincial child services.

Years later, she became a client of Regular's herself as she fought to keep her own children.

'I know my timeline isn't accurate'

Since the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary began its investigation in 2020, the woman has made multiple statements to police. Sullivan relied heavily on those statements during cross-examination, as she compared discrepancies in the woman's retelling of the events.

Sullivan questioned how long the woman had been sober, and why the exact dates and ages in two police statements didn't match up. Also, why she wasn't consistent in telling police the exact moment when — and if — she cried and told her mother about the first alleged assault.

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"I was being honest as best I could. I didn't want to leave anything out, I wanted to be honest. I was honest," the woman said.

"I know my timeline isn't accurate."

The woman said childhood trauma and past abuse have left her with gaps in her memory due to years of trying to repress them. Counselling has allowed her to remember more, she said.

The trial for Robert Regular is being held at Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in St. John's. (Mike Simms/CBC)

Sullivan said the exact location of Regular's law office — which the woman referred to while speaking to police and testifying in court — was inaccurate.

"A man you've never met in your entire life gropes you and smells your hair ... and it just stops?" Sullivan asked, emphasizing that the woman said the assault happened in a vehicle parked in the McDonald's parking lot in "broad daylight" during the lunch hour, near Regular's Conception Bay South law office and a child services building.

The woman said the next time she saw Regular was when she was 17 and had a baby, who had been taken by child services due to the woman's abusive relationship with the child's father.

She said during a meeting with Regular, who she retained to handle the child services matter, he hugged her and told her not to worry about the bill.

Sullivan suggested the woman told the police that to leave the impression that Regular was exchanging his legal services for sex.

'I knew what was coming'

Sullivan asked the woman about what office furniture she saw the day she alleges Regular sexually assaulted her for a second time. How much she weighed. Where her legs were positioned when she said Regular pulled her into him while the two were sitting on office chairs. How far back she was sitting in the chair. How it was possible that he got his hand between her legs.

"I had my legs squeezed and I said no," the complainant testified. "He forced his hand and I relaxed because ... I let it happen. I wanted it done and over with. I knew it was coming."

More than a decade later, the complainant later told police she had squeezed together her legs so tightly to avoid Regular's hand that she had bruises for a week.

"I'm going to suggest it's impossible for him to get access to your vagina if your legs are squeezed together so tight that it bruised," Sullivan said, later asking if the woman took photos of the bruises and questioned how he could assault her if she was wearing underwear.

"No, I did not take pictures. Why would I?"

The complainant said she knew the assault would happen because of her experience at the age of 12, Regular's demeanour, and knowing his relationship with her mother and sister.

Sullivan said an access worker with child services will testify that she wasn't in the waiting room while the alleged assault took place, as the complainant suggested, and that her account will differ.

The defence lawyer said notes from child services will also contradict the woman's story. Sullivan suggested the woman, in her testimony, is now backpedalling.

"I'm not backpedalling. I never took any notes on this. I never took photos of bruises or took notes of who I did or didn't tell."

The complainant is expected to return to the stand Wednesday morning for further cross-examination.

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