The jury trial for the sexual assault of former Vancouver Canuck Jake Virtanen began Monday in CBE Supreme Court. in Vancouver with the complainant, identified as MS, taking the stand. Virtanen, 25, faces one count of sexual assault related to an alleged incident of non-consensual intercourse in his hotel room at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver on September 26, 2017. He has maintained his innocence since the charge was released. Under questioning by Crown counsel Alan Ip, MS testified that she was pulled away from Virtanen repeatedly as he tried to touch, kiss and undress her in his hotel room. He said she explicitly told him several times that she “seriously and honestly” did not want to have sex with him. “I kept saying no, that I didn’t want it,” said an emotional MS. Virtanen was 21 at the time of the alleged assault, MS 18. MS testified that Virtanen responded to her reprimands, “it’s okay, you don’t have to,” more than once. MS said she believed him, but his physical progress continued to escalate. He said he eventually used his body weight to pin her to the bed. She said she didn’t consent to his penetration and she didn’t consent to not wearing a condom. Then she went to the bathroom and cried. Jake Virtanen, seen playing for the Vancouver Canucks on January 18, 2020, has been charged with one count of sexual assault. (Rich Lam/Getty Images) MS testified after the alleged assault, she spent the night in the hotel room, waiting for Virtanen to drive her home. But in the morning, he told her he had practice and gave her money for a taxi. On May 1, 2021, the Vancouver Canucks placed Virtanen on leave after the sexual harassment allegations became public. Two months later, the club bought him out of his contract. Last season he played for Spartak Moscow in the Russian Hockey League of Russia. Virtanen is from Abbotsford and was drafted by the Canucks in 2014. In October 2020, the team signed him to a two-year extension worth US$5.1 million.

They met at the Calgary Stampede

MS, who hails from a small town in BC’s interior, testified that she met Virtanen at a bar during the 2017 Calgary Stampede and didn’t know who she was or what she did for a living. MS and two friends joined Virtanen’s group of friends at a house after the bar closed, where she said they all fell asleep. She said in the morning, she and Virtanen kissed and exchanged cellphone numbers. The two stayed in touch and when she told him she was coming to Vancouver for some photo shoots and to see friends, they discussed meeting up. He said that when he arrived in Vancouver on September 26, 2017, he insisted that they meet that night. “I suggested another day. It was late and I would rather meet during the day than so late at night,” he said. “I was worried that it was late at night that I might be put in a sexual situation.” MS said Virtanen picked her up from her friend’s house in North Vancouver in a dark gray or black Dodge Charger. He said they had made no plans.
She said she thought Virtanen lived in Abbotsford and was surprised when he drove directly to the Westin Bayshore Hotel. “I felt sick, I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was exactly the situation I didn’t want to be put in,” MS said. MS first came out with the story in April 2021 on an Instagram page that posts stories of sexual assault survivors. She did not name herself or Virtanen in the post. She said the people who run the Instagram page put her in touch with a reporter, who in turn put her in touch with a Penticton lawyer. In May 2021, MS filed a civil suit against Virtanen before referring her complaint to the police. The single charge of sexual assault was filed on January 27, 2022. In court Monday, MS said at first she didn’t understand the difference between a civil and criminal case and thought the two were the same thing. She said the publicity confirmed in her mind the seriousness of the incident. “Going to the police and telling my story was the assurance that my story was rape,” she told the court. Virtanen’s attorney, Brock Martland, has yet to cross-examine the complainant. The trial is expected to last a week. Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety or the safety of others around you, call 911.