The trial of a 26-year-old Sundre man facing allegations of sex crimes against two minor females has resumed in Didsbury provincial court.
Tyson Dichrow faces 12 charges, including sexual assault, two counts of child luring, one count of possession of child pornography, two counts of providing sexually explicit material to a minor, and criminal harassment.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
His trial began on March 12 and continued on June 18 and 20.
Judge Bruce Fraser is presiding over the trial. John Hooker is the accused’s defence counsel and Jenny Rees is the Crown prosecutor.
On June 18, the accused testified he first came into contact with one of the two complainants when she asked him to friend her on Facebook.
He said an online relationship began and then the pair met in person a few weeks later and began a sexual relationship.
He said she told him when they first met that she was 18 years old and a Grade 12 high school student. He was 24 years old at the time.
He said he never asked the girl for identification.
“I didn’t have any reason to,” he said. “She carried herself like a mature adult. I was led to believe she was six years younger than me.
“Nothing stuck out as a red flag to me. There wasn’t anything that made me question her age.”
He said the pair had sexual intercourse on two occasions, both times at an area residence.
Under cross-examination by prosecutor Rees, the accused testified that he was “shocked” to learn that the girl was 13.
He said he never attended any social functions with the girl, never met any of her family or friends, or never introduced her to any of his family or friends.
“I don’t believe I ever called her my girlfriend,” he said.
When Rees asked him if the relationship with the girl was secret, he said, “I wouldn’t say that. We were essentially dating, seeing each other.”
Testifying on June 18, the second complainant, a 15-year-old girl, said she had social media contact with the accused in early 2018.
“He would ask me to have intercourse with him,” she said. “He would ask if he could have sex with me.”
She said he sent her sexually explicit videos.
The girl testified that she falsified her Facebook page profile age as 18 years when she was in fact 13 at the time.
The accused testified that he never sent the girl any photos or videos, and did not ask her for sex.
On March 13, RCMP Const. Jared Hamilton testified that he started an investigation after receiving information that sexually explicit photos were being electronically shared by local students.
The accused was charged on Feb. 3, 2018 and was subsequently released pending trial.
The trial has been adjourned to Sept. 24 for continuation.
