A 57-year-old man pleaded guilty Wednesday, Jan. 15 in Prince George Provincial Court to sexually assaulting a woman last summer near the Prince George Public Library.
Judge Judith Doulis heard that a witness saw Louie Tommy appearing to perform chest compressions on a woman at a green space near the library. When the witness approached, she found Tommy’s hands down the front of the woman’s pants, trying to take them off. The victim was incoherent and Tommy claimed she was his sister.
The agreed statement of facts, read by Crown prosecutor Gregory Furmaniuk, said the witness called Prince George RCMP at 11:11 p.m. to report a sexual assault in progress. She noted the woman appeared to be breathing, but could not wake her up. When she stepped away to call the RCMP, the witness said she saw Tommy jump back on top of the victim.
RCMP officers attended and found Tommy next to a female that they described as grossly intoxicated and barely responsive. The victim was lying on the grass, partially exposed below the waist. Tommy’s belt was undone and the zipper on his pants pulled down.
After arresting Tommy, police tried to wake the victim. Furmaniuk said she did not respond to verbal cues, would not open her eyes and was so intoxicated that she could not form words.
Police called an ambulance, which took her to hospital.
The victim later gave a statement, telling police that Tommy was a friend that she ran into on a night of drinking cocktails with her husband. The last thing she remembered was drinking.
She woke up in the hospital with a sore shoulder, scratched cheek scratched and feeling as if someone had punched her.
Defence lawyer Keith Jones asked for pre-sentencing reports, including a forensic psychiatric assessment and analysis of how Tommy’s Indigenous heritage influenced his behaviour.
Doulis adjourned the case to Jan. 30 to schedule the next hearing.
