Unprecedented prosecution of Cdn. soldier accused of sexual assault at CFB Borden goes to trial

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The unprecedented civilian court prosecution of a Canadian soldier accused of sexual assault and forcible confinement against a female military member while at Canadian Forces Base Borden in 2018 has gone to trial.

The complainant, Elvira Jaszberenyi, took the stand to testify Monday morning against the accused, Oleksii Silin.

Jaszberenyi, now 60, first came forward to military police in May 2018 and alleged she had been sexually assaulted and confined against her will in a maintenance closet by Silin.

During a military police interview that same month, she alleged, "It happened so damn quickly that, you know, you don't even have time to think."

Silin, in the May 16 interview, said, " I, like, kissed her, and she didn't say nothing, like she's not agree or she want to go or something like this."

The complainant maintained it was not consensual.

In her 2018 military police interview, the complainant said, "I should've fought. Anyway, [I] can't take back what I didn't do," adding, "I just turned my back on him, and I just bent over, and I said, okay, let him finish, and I'm out of here. So, I just gave up."

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During the interview, she told investigators she felt helpless and feared for her safety. "He's a lot stronger than me, so I wasn't even going to attempt to fight."

The complainant said the Military Justice System (MJS) failed her and countless others whose reports of sexual assault and misconduct in the military have been brushed aside.

The MJS ultimately decided not to move forward against then-Private Silin. The MJS Judge Advocate General did not pursue the charges, citing a lack of training by those who conducted the interviews with the woman and Silin.

In the May interview, Silin claimed, in his broken English, the complainant exaggerated events. "I said, Let's go with me, and she said, 'No, like I want to go sleep,' and then I take her hand, and just maybe that's why, like, force," he explained.

A prior publication ban protecting Jaszberenyi's identity, as a complainant of sexual assault, was removed at Jaszberenyi's request in September 2023.

Silin, an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces and now a corporal, is represented by Toronto lawyer Mitchell Worsoff.