Trial begins for 3 men charged with sexual assault in Hay River, New Jersey in 2022

The trial of three Hay River, New Jersey men accused of sexual assault began Thursday in the NWT Supreme Court.

Crown prosecutor Jean-Benoît Deschamps presented testimony from the lead investigator, as well as from an associate of the three defendants who had contact with both them and the two alleged adult victims at the time.

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

In July 2022, three men were each charged with two counts of sexual assault. According to the Crown, the three met the two alleged victims at the Hay River Legion branch for drinks in the early morning hours of July 3, and the five later 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-imposed publication ban.

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

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

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

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

During cross-examination, Amine Zahi’s lawyer, Kimberly Arial, asked whether Zahi resisted arrest or evaded police when she approached him at work. Campbell said no and added that Zahi seemed confused, probably because he didn’t understand English very well.

The Crown presented surveillance footage of the Hay River Legion from the night the alleged assaults took place, showing the accused and complainant interacting and driving away together in a vehicle. Campbell testified that one of the alleged victims appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and was struggling to maintain her balance in the video.

On Thursday, the court also heard testimony from Tanisha Edison, an associate of the three defendants, who met the complainants for the first time that morning at the Legion.

Edison testified that she saw the group together at a table, with Sellemi appearing “handy” with one of the alleged victims and Zellama appearing to be intoxicated. She said the group left the scene in a vehicle that she later saw at the apartment of one of the defendants.

Edison said she was driving at approximately 2:30 a.m. on July 3 when she saw the two complainants walking down the street. She described them as “stoic” and unresponsive when she called out to them.

Edison said that she gave them a ride home and observed that they were upset and crying, at which point she stated that they “looked like two different people” compared to how she had seen them earlier that evening.

Edison said she later saw Sellemi, Zahi and Zellama at work but did not discuss the complainants’ allegations with them.

The trial is scheduled to continue on Friday, based on testimony from a civilian witness and one of the alleged victims.