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Friendly after alleged assault

A woman who has accused B.C.'s former RCMP spokesman of sexual assault defended sending him friendly emails after the alleged attack during a heated cross-examination Monday.

David Butcher is representing former inspector Tim Shields in provincial court and he presented the woman with printed copies of emails she sent to his client while she was a civilian RCMP employee.

In various emails, she asked if he had any "magnificent inspiring revelations" while he was on vacation, praised his "beautiful" photography and inquired about his ailing father.

Butcher repeatedly pressed her to explain the tone of the emails. The woman, who cannot be identified, appeared to grow frustrated, at times rolling her eyes and raising her voice.

"I'm suggesting to you that's a very friendly thing to do ... " Butcher began to say at one point, referring to her email about Shields's father.

"Friendly is not an invitation to sex," she interjected. "Friendly is not coming on to someone. In 2017, that there's even an insinuation like that is beyond me.

Butcher replied that all the messages were sent "after the fact," referring to the alleged assault.

"They were all after the fact, yeah, the fact that I wanted to just forget about it and move on with my life," she said.

Shields has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual assault.



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