A Saskatoon man has been found guilty of sexual assault with a weapon and forcible confinement.
Court of Queens Bench heard how Joseph Yaremko broke into a woman's condo while trying to escape police from an outstanding warrant on June 3, 2019.
The incident happened in the 100 block of Wellman Crescent in the Stonebridge neighbourhood. The woman was 21 at the time and her identity is protected under a publication ban.
When Yaremko forcibly entered her condo, the woman “screamed and pleaded” for him to leave, believing something bad was going to happen, Judge Naheed Bardai told the courtroom.
Yaremko sexually assaulted the woman several times during the 12 hours he was in her condo.
During that time he forced her to smoke a drug she believed was meth.
Yaremko fell in and out of sleep on the couch and in the morning, the woman convinced him to let her go to work and that they would go for lunch when she returned.
The woman called her workplace who called the police. Yaremko was later arrested by police while still in the apartment.
CONSENT AND CREDIBILITY
Bardai called the incident a “nightmare scenario” and the overall theme of the case was about consent.
Yaremko alleges he was dating the woman and that all sexual acts were consensual. Evidence in court showed no record of Yaremko and the woman together anywhere.
Bardai called Yaremko’s evidence more “fiction than fact” throughout the trial, listing more than 17 contradicting facts.
Yaremko previously told the courtroom the knife he had on him was the woman’s brother's when in fact it was his.
“His evidence is not believable,” Bardai told the courtroom.
The judge went on to say the woman was a credible and reliable witness. For example, she admitted that some events were foggy due to the drugs she was on.
Earlier in the trial, Yaremko suggested the woman should not be believed because she didn’t try to leave sooner.
Bardai told the courtroom “it’s easy to be critical” and while her approach to escape may not have been the fastest, it worked because she took the time to build his trust, knowing he had a knife on him.
In November, Yaremko’s lawyer withdrew her counsel, leaving him to represent himself.
Court is adjourned until Jan. 13 when Yaremko will submit a Rowbotham application, where he will be given a court-appointed lawyer before sentencing.
