Trial of 3 men accused of sexual assault in Hay River, NWT begins in 2022

The trial of three Hay River, NWT men facing sexual assault charges began in the NWT Supreme Court on Thursday.

Crown prosecutor Jean-Benoît Deschamps presented testimony from the lead investigator and a colleague who also worked with the three defendants, who interacted with both them and the two alleged victims, who were adults at the time.

The three defendants – Maher Sellemi, Amine Zahi and Hassen Zellama – were released on bail and were present at the hearing, which was conducted in French with some English translations.

In July 2022, the three men were each charged with two counts of sexual assault. According to the Crown, the three met the two alleged victims drinking at the Hay River Legion Branch in the early morning hours of July 3, and all five then went to the apartment of one of the defendants.

The next day, the alleged victims filed a complaint with the RCMP. Their identities are protected under a court-ordered publication ban.

RCMP detachment in Hay River, NWT (Natalie Pressman/CBC)

RCMP Const. Lead investigator Grayson Campbell testified Thursday that he received a call about the alleged assault on July 4, 2022.

He told the court the two complainants were “very upset” when they arrived at the RCMP detachment that day, with one crying and the other appearing “covered with his arms.”

Campbell testified that RCMP arrested Sellemi, Zahi and Zellama on July 8, 2022, at a restaurant where they worked near the Ptarmigan Inn in Hay River. Campbell identified the defendants in court.

During cross-examination, Amine Zahi’s attorney, Kimberly Arial, asked whether Zahi resisted arrest or fled from police when approached at his workplace. Campbell said he didn’t and added that Zahi looked confused, probably because he didn’t understand English that well.

The Crown presented Hay River Legion security footage from the night of the alleged attacks; In these images, the defendant and the complainants are seen interacting and leaving together in a vehicle. Campbell testified that one of the alleged victims appeared drunk and was struggling to keep his balance in the footage.

The court also heard on Thursday from Tanisha Edison, a co-worker of the three defendants who first met the complainants at the Legion that morning.

Edison testified that he saw the group together at a table, that Sellemi appeared “handy” with one of the alleged victims, and that Zellama appeared drunk. He said that the group then left the place in a vehicle they saw at the house of one of the defendants.

Edison said that while he was driving around 2:30 a.m. on July 3, he saw the two complainants walking on the street. He described them as “patient” and unresponsive when he called them out.

Edison said that he drove them home, observed that they were upset and crying, and compared to what he saw them that night, they “looked like two different people.”

Edison later said he saw Sellemi, Zahi and Zellama in action but did not discuss the complainants’ allegations with them.

The trial will continue Friday with testimony from a civilian witness and one of the alleged victims.