Drugs, booze was a way to cope with sexual abuse by coach, witness testifies

Drugs, booze was a way to cope with sexual abuse by coach, witness testifies

Sean Maheu, 40, faces four sex-related charges in connection with his dealings with the then-teenager.

Telling his mom he’d been sexually assaulted by his basketball coach helped her understand his destructive behaviour, a witness testified Tuesday.

During cross-examination by defence counsel Matt Deshaye, the now-20-year-old admitted his mother was concerned about his alcohol and drug use, which he said was a product of his abuse by his former coach, Sean Maheu.

“Me telling my mom (about the sexual abuse) explained my behaviour to her . . . to an extent,” he told Deshaye. 

The witness, who said he was sexually assaulted four or five times in Maheu’s southwest Calgary home when he was 14 or 15 years old, said he suppressed his memories of the abuse. 

But he said on Oct. 31, 2020, while high on acid, he called his mom to take him home, and when they got there he told her what had happened between him and Maheu.

“Once we got home, that’s when we got into the details,” he said.

The lawyer asked if the witness’s mother was disappointed about his self-destructive behaviour.

“Not so disappointed, more worried,” he replied.

Maheu, 40, faces four sex-related charges in connection with his dealings with the then-teenager.

Two weeks after his disclosure to his mother, the witness was interviewed by sex crimes Det. Trish Allen, in a video Crown prosecutor Rose Greenwood wants provincial court Judge Barry Nordin to rule admissible as evidence.

Deshaye is opposed to the evidence going in.

Under the Criminal Code, video of a minor at the time of the alleged offence can be admitted into evidence if the witness adopts the contents and a judge finds its admission wouldn’t interfere with the proper administration of justice. 

Through the video and his own testimony, the complainant said Maheu sexually assaulted him both anally and orally.

During questioning by Deshaye over the admissibility issue, the witness acknowledged he had suppressed his memories of what had occurred.

“I’ve been actively running away from it and suppressing it,” he said.

Even when he disclosed the abuse, he had difficulty recalling in detail what occurred.

“It wasn’t in the front of my mind, but it was there and it’s affecting me,” he said.

“It wouldn’t be like I’m watching a video in my head of this happening.”

He said that at one point, early on in the relationship with the coach, his mother told him she believed Maheu had sexually abused him, pointing to “red flags” she noticed, but he denied being abused at that time.

And she never equated his drug and alcohol use to behaviour triggered by his violation by the coach.

“She just assumed I was being a bad kid and acting crazy,” the complainant said.

He also said between his disclosure on Oct. 31 and his interview with Allen on Nov. 13, he and his mom didn’t speak extensively about what occurred.

“Are you talking to your mom about what happened?” Deshaye asked.

“Not really,” he said.