OTTAWA — The former senior military leader on trial for sexual assault in an Ottawa courtroom is set to face cross-examination by the Crown this morning. 

Retired vice-admiral Haydn Edmundson took the stand in his defence on Monday, denying that he had physical or sexual contact with the woman who accuses him of raping her in 1991. 

The woman, who cannot be named because of a publication ban, testified last week that the assault happened in Edmundson’s sleeping quarters on a navy ship during a deployment. 

She says he was a senior officer and she was in the navy’s lowest rank, and she felt frozen and unable to call for help.

She also says she found him naked and exposed in his bunk one night when she was assigned to wake him for watch duty. 

Edmundson also denies that ever happened, and testified Monday that he did not have many night watches at the time because he was the ship’s navigator.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press