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 has continued on several subsequent dates, including last week.
Judge Bruce Fraser is presiding over the trial. John Hooker is the accused’s defence counsel and Jenny Rees is the Crown prosecutor.
On Dec. 9, Riley Aschak, a former Sundre resident, testified he met one of the two female complainants through mutual friends in the summer of 2017 and had a six-day friendship with her.
He testified the girl told him she was 13 years of age at the time.
Earlier in the trial that complainant, who cannot be named, testified she had a sexual relationship with the accused after he contacted her through a social media network in October 2017.
“I told him I was 13 years old," she said. “He knew I was 13. He was aware of my age as soon as we started talking (on social media).”
Also earlier in the trial the accused testified that the complainant told him 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.”
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 accused testified that he never sent the girl any videos and did not ask her for sex.
The defence is now scheduled to make written submissions to the judge on Jan. 20, followed by Crown submissions. The judge will then give his ruling on Feb. 20, 2020.
