Bar manager in gang rape trial charged with sexual assault in 3 other cases

The jury deciding the fate of two men accused of gang raping a woman in the College Street Bar three years ago never heard that one of the defendants is also facing other sex-related charges.

Former bar manager Enzo De Jesus Carrasco is accused of sexually assaulting three other women he met through the bar. The Crown says the women came forward soon after De Jesus Carrasco was charged in connection with the case that’s now before the jury.

The jurors were never told of the additional charges against him, because it would have infringed on his right to a fair trial. But the information can now be published because the jury is sequestered as it looks at the evidence in the seven-week trial.

De Jesus Carrasco and Gavin MacMillan, the former owner of the College Street Bar, are awaiting the verdict on allegations that they sexually assaulted a woman inside the bar on the night of Dec.14, 2016.

They each face a charge of gang sexual assault, forcible confinement and administering a stupefying drug. The jury is also deciding whether De Jesus Carrasco is guilty of two additional charges of sexual assault involving the same woman. Both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

At issue is whether the woman had the capacity to consent to the “rough” sex that she engaged in after having consumed multiple drinks and having snorted cocaine. Her identity is protected by a publication ban.

Both defendants testified during the trial that the sex was consensual. The woman told the court she was too intoxicated to consent.

The jurors, who’ve been sequestered since Tuesday evening, are likely reviewing some of the nine hours of surveillance video played during the trial. The cameras captured most of the sex acts that took place between the woman and both men.

The Crown alleges two of the three women who came forward said De Jesus Carrasco put his hands down their pants in a way that’s similar to the sexual acts captured on the video that is now before the jury.

One of the alleged incidents happened between November and early December of 2016.  De Jesus Carrasco is alleged to have approached a woman “from behind,” according to court documents, and “kissed her as she turned around.” He then allegedly “slipped one of his hands into her jeans.”

Another woman said she gave him a ride home in December 2015. De Jesus Carrasco was “flirtatious,” according to the documents, and refused to get out of the car “until he received a kiss” from the woman.

The woman then kissed him on the cheek. But she said he wouldn’t get out of the car until she kissed him on the lips. After that happened, the woman said he pushed her back into the seat with one hand, and “forced his other hand down the front of her pants.” The alleged assault lasted two to three minutes, she said.

Trial dates for the sexual assault charges involving the two women are expected to be set next month. De Jesus Carrasco is scheduled to go to trial in March 2020 for charges of sexual assault  and voyeurism involving a third woman.

During this trial, De Jesus Carrasco and MacMIllan were captured on cameras snorting cocaine, drinking and taking part in multiple sex acts with a woman — sometimes together and sometimes individually while the other watched. The sex acts took place in the bar, storage room, and the office of the bar.

The jury heard days of testimony from both defendants and the woman.

The woman said she can only recall “bits and pieces” of what happened. In her testimony, which took place via video link, she described feeling intoxicated and unable to defend herself.

Jury deliberations will continue Thursday.

CBC