Man who answered ad about "lady driven car" convicted of sex assault

REGINA (SNN)[Sasketchewan News Network]
-- A stranger who groped a young Regina woman after responding to a newspaper advertisement for her "lady-driven car" has been convicted of sexual assault. It took the nine-woman, three-man jury only half an hour Wednesday to find John Robert Chrispen guilty.

The 49-year-old Regina Beach man was accused of grabbing the complainant's breasts on Aug. 21, 2006, after they took her Acura Integra for a test drive.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Ronald Barclay adjourned sentencing to July 21 and ordered a pre-sentence report.

Chrispen will remain free on release conditions pending his sentencing.
The verdict came a day after the victim, who was 18 years old at the time of the assault, told court she decided to go to police lest it happen to someone else.
"It was the right thing to do," she said.

The woman, who cannot be identified under a publication ban, met Chrispen in a parking lot near the University of Regina after he called about her car ad. She said he appeared nervous during the test drive and twice abruptly braked for a pothole or puddle. Both times, he reached out his arm, touching her upper chest, as if to brace her in the passenger seat -- despite her seatbelt -- as the car jolted forward.

After they returned to the parking lot and she was back in the driver's seat, he mentioned that he had left his cellphone in the vehicle. Rather than waiting for her to reach for the phone, he leaned into the vehicle, grabbed each of her breasts, then picked up his phone and left, she told the court. She sat in the vehicle crying for about five minutes.
Chrispen never testified and called no other evidence.

His defence lawyer, Jeff Deagle, suggested the woman was mistaken in her impression of the incident and Chrispen had accidentally brushed her chest while reaching for the phone.
But Crown prosecutor Marylynne Beaton argued the woman clearly believed she was intentionally groped.

In his instructions to the jury, Barclay said an assault occurs whenever force is intentionally applied without the consent of the other party.

"Mere touching is sufficient if done intentionally," he said. To find Chrispen guilty of a sexual assault, the jury had to find the assault violated the complainant's "sexual integrity."

"This is a serious charge," Barclay told the jury, reminding them several times they couldn't convict unless the Crown had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.