WARNING: This article contains details about a criminal sexual assault trial and may be disturbing to some readers. If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, contact the 24-hour Sexual Assault Support Crisis line at 1-877-954-6242 or the RCMP.

A First Nations traditional sa国际传媒渘ative healersa国际传媒� from the Fort Williams area charged with sexually assaulting six patients will have his fate determined by a jury of his peers at the Penticton courthouse.

is on trial before a judge and jury with six counts of sexual assault after six different women accused him of inappropriate touching during traditional healing sa国际传媒渟essionssa国际传媒� in October of 2022.

The incidents allegedly took place over a four-day period.

A contingent of about 20 First Nation residents gathered inside the courthouse to hear evidence in the trial which began Wednesday in Penticton.

When court broke for the lunch recess around 12:30 p.m., the same group gathered in Gyro Park to sing and drum as a show of support to the complainants who will be testifying in this trial.

Justice Michael Brundrett ordered a publication ban on any information that could help identify any of the complainants.

A jury of eight men and four women, along with one male and one female alternate juror, listened intently as the first female complainant gave evidence all day Wednesday.

The jury was selected and given opening statements by defence counsel Mark Norha from Vancouver and Crown attorney Andrew Vandersluys on Tuesday.

The first complainant testified she had been involved with three or four one-on-one native healing sessions with Ashley over several years and had never felt physically uncomfortable.

As a proud First Nations woman, she regularly participated in sweat lodge ceremonies, fasting and sa国际传媒渃reek ceremoniessa国际传媒� where running water is used to cleanse herself physically, mentally and spiritually, she said.

While nothing unusual happened during several sessions with Ashley dating back several years, that changed during her session Oct. 15, 2022, she said.

She brought her six-year-old daughter to this session as she had medical problems in her young life and thought Ashley might be able to help her as well, she said.

sa国际传媒淚t had been many, many years since I had seen him,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淭his time he was talking a lot, which was different for him, and I sensed he was going through a tough time.sa国际传媒�

Ashley admitted to her he was going through some difficult times in his personal life and he appeared to have suffered some physical injuries, including his nose looking a lot different from the last time she had seen him, she said.

After performing a quick natural healing session on her daughter using smudging and an eagle feather to sa国际传媒渂rush offsa国际传媒� bad spirits, her daughter left the room to play with some cousins, she said.

Ashley did his usual smudging and eagle feather brushing techniques with her, she said.

While sitting on a chair, Ashleysa国际传媒檚 demeanour changed, she said.

sa国际传媒淗e told me he was attracted to me,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淗e told me he had been attracted to me for a long time.sa国际传媒�

When asked how that made her feel, she replied sa国际传媒淚 didnsa国际传媒檛 know what to do. Isa国际传媒檓 married and I didnsa国际传媒檛 appreciate those kind of comments. It hurt me because I liked him and held him in high regard. I didnsa国际传媒檛 know what to do or what to say. I didnsa国际传媒檛 acknowledge his comments.sa国际传媒�

While laying on her back nearing the end of her session, Ashley became much more physically aggressive, she said.

Ashley again commented how he was attracted to her physically sa国际传媒渁nd not just for my looks, but he said I was a free spirit and you just go and do what you want.sa国际传媒�

While using traditional medicine techniques, Ashley commented she might have issues with her liver and uterus and suggested she might want to get those checked out by a medical doctor, she said.

His physical examination continued and he commented about a possible lump in her right breast, she said.

He asked if he could examine that breast, she agreed because she trusted him, and he proceeded to apply pressure to the point it hurt, she said.

Seconds later, Ashley sa国际传媒渨as yelling to get out whatever was in there,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚t was nothing I had experienced before.sa国际传媒�

Without permission, he allegedly started fondling her left breast and she didnsa国际传媒檛 know what to do or say, she said.
sa国际传媒淭o me, this wasnsa国际传媒檛 a breast exam,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淭o me, it was being done in an inappropriate manner.sa国际传媒�

Ashley then asked about any other physical ailments that might be bothering her and she commented she had been suffering from serious back issues for some time, she said.

Ashley commented he could reduce back pain by accessing other parts of her body, she said.

Within seconds, his groin was near one of her hands, she said.

sa国际传媒淎t first, I tried to justify what he was doing,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淓ventually, I was able to move my hand away.sa国际传媒�

He soon grabbed her body and moved it closer to the edge of the massage table and she could clearly see he was aroused.

sa国际传媒淗e had an erection and was putting it against my legs,sa国际传媒� she testified.

Eventually, he started massaging and caressing her upper thighs and put his hands up under her shirt, then her upper thighs and buttocks.

Ashley tried to justify his actions, in her opinion, by commenting that he could tell she was having some serious physical issues and her body was not in good shape, she said.

Eventually, he lifted one of her legs and started rubbing an area near her vagina, she said.

When asked if she had given him permission to do anything but examine her right breast, she said she hadnsa国际传媒檛.

sa国际传媒淎bsolutely not,sa国际传媒� she said.

sa国际传媒淚 was just frozen."

She was only able to leave when her sister poked her head inside the door and commented the session seemed to have gone on longer than normal, she said.

sa国际传媒淭hat was my exit,sa国际传媒� she said.

Four days later, she contacted Penticton RCMP and gave police a full statement, she said.

Under cross-examination, the complainant admitted the last healing session she had with Ashley before the 2022 session had upset her.

Ashley had commented he could feel sa国际传媒渁 darkness in hersa国际传媒� and blamed her husband, she said.

Ashley then commented she should leave her husband and that if he hurt her in any way, he would kill him, she testified.

When asked why she went back to visit him again in 2022 after this incident, the complainant said she thought Ashley could help her daughter with her physical ailments and she was going through a difficult time and thought a healing session would help her.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.