Woman testifies alleged Kingston predator sexually abused her in washroom
Michael Haaima is on trial facing 98 charges for alleged incidents dating back to 2007 through to his arrest in 2022
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Warning: The following story deals with sexual violence and sexual assault and may be triggering or disturbing to some.
A woman testified on Tuesday her former weed dealer and roommate sexually assaulted her while she was sitting on a toilet and then raped her in his bedroom while his friend was passed out beside them and a roomful of people partied downstairs.
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“I kept saying, ‘No, stop it,’ but I think it fuelled his fire,” the woman told the court in a controlled and at times hushed voice. She was testifying from another courthouse while her sleeping newborn was strapped to her in a carrier.
The woman was the third witness called by the Crown to testify in Ontario Superior Court in Kingston where alleged sexual predator Michael Haaima is on trial, facing 98 charges for incidents dating back to 2007 through to his arrest in 2022. Among the charges against the 40-year-old tech worker are more than 30 counts of sexual assault, including several involving weapons or choking.
In its opening, the Crown stated that 28 women are expected to testify at the trial, which is expected to stretch into the fall. Madame Justice Robyn Ryan Bell is presiding over the trial without a jury.
Dressed in a beige jacket, a gaunt Haaima looked on dispassionately from the dock and didn’t react during the witness’ testimony. Only when the judge left the courtroom during breaks did Haaima doff his jack, roll up his sleeves to reveal tattoos stretching the length of his arms to his wrists and consult with his lawyer.
The third woman called by the Crown to testify at the trial, the witness told the court Tuesday that she became Haaima’s roommate out of necessity when she was 20 years old in March 2007 — she said she had been living out of her Pontiac Sunbird “for at least two nights” with her friend and her friend’s sister when they drove to Haaima’s house on Selkirk Street to buy marijuana.
The three girls had been kicked out of a house in the west end of Kingston after the sisters’ father became angered by their late-night partying. When they told Haaima of their plight, he told them he was looking for roommates — that his previous roommate was moving out.
“He seemed like a nice, reasonable guy (who was going to) help us when we needed help,” the woman told the court on Tuesday.
She testified that she didn’t know Haaima, who had sold drugs to her friend and previously had sex with her. The friend, a Kingston resident, testified on Monday that her sexual encounter with Haaima had turned violent, involving hitting and choking, but she hadn’t shared any details of her experience.
Under questioning from assistant Crown Holly Chiavetti, the witness on Tuesday told the court that she was initially attracted to Haaima, remembering him as “a pretty boy (with) piercings” and “well-kept.”
“He went through (the three of) us like we were notches on his bedpost,” she said ruefully.
The witness told the court on Tuesday she and her friend were watching television on Haaima’s bed shortly after they moved in and he forced himself on them, first putting his hands down her pajama pants and penetrated her with his hands without consent.
“I told him it’s not my style — not with my best friend there,” she testified. “It was inappropriate. I wasn’t comfortable. He rolled over and moved on to (my friend).”
According to her testimony about an incident a few weeks later, Haaima called her for a ride home from a west-end bar. She said Haaima was inebriated and abusive toward her when she arrived and at one point while in the bar exposed himself and grabbed her neck, forcing her face toward his groin, demanding oral sex.
She told the court she drove Haaima and his friend back to the house on Selkirk Street and went upstairs to use the bathroom. She said that Haaima and his friend came into the bathroom and the two of them touched her sexually while she was sitting on the toilet. The other man seemed to be going along only at Haaima’s urging and soon left the two of them alone.
The witness said she jumped up on the bathroom vanity to get away from Haaima, but that he sexually violated her there. “He penetrated me multiple times,” she said. According to her testimony, Haaima then picked her up and carried her into his bedroom, throwing her down on the bed beside his friend who had passed out. She said Haaima then raped her without using a condom.
“I was lost, scared and just wanted to get out,” she testified. “I said, ‘No. Stop.’ I wondered why a roomful of people downstairs couldn’t hear me.”
The witness said on Tuesday that she didn’t file a police report in 2007 nor at any point after. “I question myself about that,” she said.
According to her testimony, Haaima later focused on a 15-year-old girl who worked with her at a fast-food outlet.
“He lost interest in (the three of us) after that,” the witness said. “We brought up (our issues) with (the 15-year-old) a couple of times but she didn’t understand our concerns with the age difference.”
One of the charges against Haaima is for sexual exploitation, which is tied to his alleged involvement with the 15-year-old.
Haaima’s lawyer, Natasha Calvinho, objected to the witness testifying while holding the baby, calling it “not appropriate” and “highly possibly distracting.”
In turn, the Crown argued that the witness would be more distracted if she had to hand over the newborn to a police officer who was the only person accompanying her to the courthouse for her remote testimony.
Madame Justice Bell allowed the witness to testify with breaks to attend to the baby when necessary.
Occasionally, the witness started to sob as she recounted events as she remembered them, but didn’t ask to pause the questioning from assistant Crown Chiavetti.
The trial continues Wednesday when the witness is scheduled to return to the stand for questioning from Haaima’s lawyer.
The identities of whom are shielded by a publication ban.
A joint investigation between the Ontario Provincial Police and Kingston Police, dubbed “Project Shamrock,” began in January 2022, when Kingston Police were made aware of an individual luring victims through social media platforms. Haaima was arrested on April 6, 2022.
gjoyce@postmedia.com
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