Ellison coerced her into sex on boat, alleged victim says

Last woman to testify against ex-teacher makes allegations in closed courtroom

VANCOUVER — The final woman to testify against Tom Ellison says she was coerced into a sexual encounter on his boat in 1981 while other Quest students were on an overnight hike.

The 42-year-old woman testified that Mr. Ellison performed oral sex, tried to persuade her to engage in sexual intercourse and only stopped after she said “I can’t do this,” and broke into tears.

The woman made the allegations in testimony Thursday in a closed courtroom. An edited transcript of her evidence was released yesterday.

Judge Mark Takahashi granted a request by the Crown to permit the woman to testify in a closed court. The judge’s reasons are unknown because he also barred the public from the court when he gave his ruling on this request.

Mr. Ellison, 63, is on trial on 12 charges of gross indecency, three counts of indecent assault and one charge of sexual assault in connection with a series of incidents in the 1970s and 1980s.

The former high-school teacher and administrator of the Quest outdoor program at the Prince of Wales Secondary School in Vancouver has admitted to sexual encounters with 12 female students. His lawyer has said the incidents were consensual and not criminal.

The final alleged victim to testify was one of a number of students who took a 10-day trip on Mr. Ellison’s boat in the Queen Charlotte Islands in the summer of 1981. She twisted her ankle and could not join her friends on the overnight hike and camping excursion.

Mr. Ellison offered to stay behind and said she could have a freshwater shower if she would suntan in the nude on the boat, the woman testified.

“This was a real perk because we had been out in salt water for several days.”

As she was sunbathing naked, Mr. Ellison came over, offered to give her a foot massage and suggested there was a mutual physical attraction.

“I was totally mortified,” the woman testified. “He’s telling me that somehow I’m giving him this signal that I want to have sex with him.”

After a lengthy massage, Mr. Ellison allegedly began to kiss the young woman against her will and performed oral sex for about 15 minutes.

He put her hand on his penis and said “it’s okay to have an erection, but it is not okay to not get rid of it,” the woman testified.

When she burst into tears, which ended the incident, Mr. Ellison told her he was disappointed and thought the woman was more mature, she testified.

The woman first contacted police in 1994, nearly 13 years after the incident.

The court has not heard why police did not lay criminal charges against Mr. Ellison for another 10 years.

Defence lawyer Bill Smart noted that the woman initially studied to be an actor. She responded that she switched to another profession because she was not good at acting.

The woman admitted she thought at first that she may have led Mr. Ellison on, but denied the incident was consensual.

“The oral sex ended, I suggest, with you having an orgasm,” Mr. Smart said.

“No, that is not correct,” the woman responded. “Ugh. That is absolutely untrue.”

The woman slept in the same bed as Mr. Ellison that night, but there was no sexual contact.

Mr. Smart will announce on Tuesday whether the defence will call any evidence, when the trial resumes.

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