Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 12/02) - After two days of deliberation, a jury of 11 women and one man convicted 41-year-old Mark Cotterill of sexual assault.

The two-day trial began last week before Supreme Court Justice John Vertes.

After allowing Cotterill 12 months credit for remand time spent in pre-trial custody, Vertes sentenced him to 18 months in prison.

Cotterill, a social worker formerly stationed in Wha Ti and Rae, was convicted of sexual assault. The jury found him not guilty of uttering death threats.

The assault occurred at the Garden Apartments in Yellowknife on Dec. 18, 2001.

On the first day of the trial the jury heard testimony from the 25-year-old victim who met Cotterill at the Gold Range Hotel bar on the night of the assault.

The victim agreed to accompany Cotterill back to his hotel room after he offered her $1,000 to make some phone calls to locate his ex-girlfriend.

The victim testified that shortly after arriving at the Garden Apartments on Franklin Avenue Cotterill pushed her onto the bed and, wielding a knife, forced her to perform oral sex on him.

She said he threatened her, telling her he could do anything he wanted to her and could kill her if he wanted to.

Cotterill testified that the victim was coming on to him at the Gold Range and that both of them went back to his room to "spend some time alone."

He claimed she began kissing him and touching his genitals, but soon after became disinterested and began demanding he pay her the $1,000 promised earlier in the evening.

Cotterill said she became angered when he would not give her the money, at which time she said she would tell the police that he raped her if he did not fork over the cash.

Crown prosecutor Caroline Carrasco called nine witnesses to the stand. Those called include the two arresting officers, the hotel desk clerk on duty the night of the incident, the victim and two of the victim's friends who accompanied her to the Gold Range that evening.

During closing arguments Carrasco argued the testimony of the accused contained "continuous gross inconsistencies" and was "simply not reliable."

"(The victim) thought he was nice. She trusted him ... but he then let her know what his true intentions were," said Carrasco.

Carrasco said the victim's testimony was "far more compelling" than Cotterill's and was "amply supported by the independent witnesses who have no interest in this trial."

Defence attorney James Brydon argued there were several reasons to doubt the victim's testimony. He pointed out that the victim did not remember the color of Cotterill's underwear or which hand he held the knife in.

But the compelling and emotional testimony of the victim was enough for the jury. Late Friday afternoon, the second day of deliberations, they returned with a guilty verdict.

Brydon was unavailable for comment this week.