pc28����

The 64-year-old veteran politician has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault, and Shemesh has said her client rejects any and all allegations made against him.

The first week went “exactly the way it was supposed to go,” the pc28����defence lawyer said walking to her vehicle. “We’re starting to get into the meat of the case,” she said. Shemesh has declined to say whether Thompson will testify when the trial resumes on Oct. 21, but has indicated she will be calling a defence once the Crown closes its case.

It’s rare for a Canadian politician — who is still holding office — to stand trial on such serious charges; Thompson is accused of a pair of sexual assaults, including allegedly��forcing himself upon a “very, very drunk” woman late at night in a Muskoka cottage.

First elected to pc28����city council in 2003, Thompson has remained on council ever since, consistently winning by large margins in Scarborough Centre, (Ward 21.) For much of his tenure, he was the only Black member of council in a city considered the most ethnically diverse in the world.

Here’s some of what we learned in the first week of his trial.

The details of what Thompson allegedly did

The trial before Justice Philop Brissette was expected to last five days — with all three Crown witnesses scheduled to have completed their testimony the first week when court sat for three days. However, by Friday afternoon, only one witness had testified — a university student who was also at the Muskoka cottage on Canada Day weekend 2022. (She and the two complainants cannot be identified under a publication ban.)

Although court hasn’t heard from the complainants themselves, the trial opened Monday with prosecutor Mareike Newhouse giving Brissette the first detailed public outline of the allegations.

Newhouse told the judge he should expect to hear that Thompson massaged one of the women in a sexual manner, to which she did not consent, and that later that night, he woke up her friend, who had gone to bed “very, very drunk,” and “forced himself on her,” despite her “repeatedly” telling him no.

An invitation to a ‘networking’ event

The first witness was a 24-year-old university student who described the much-older elected official exhibiting predatory behaviour and boasting about his connections to the cultural and arts scene in order to entice her to the cottage with “false promises” about career opportunities.

She appeared in court Monday to address the night she met Thompson on June 17, 2022, at a launch party for an exhibition called “Rock and Roll Forever” held at the Peter Triantos Art Gallery in Yorkville.

Thompson, then one of John Tory’s ceremonial��deputy mayors, wore black pants and a T-shirt emblazoned with one of Triantos’ colourful creations as he addressed the crowd.

“My name is Michael Thompson, and I’m in charge of economic development for the City of Toronto,” Thompson told the gathering, referring to the position he held under then-Mayor John Tory and his predecessor, Rob Ford. (Video of Thompson’s speech and some of the event is posted on the gallery’s website.)

The student testified she had no idea who Thompson was when he approached her, but that he described his “connections within the creative sphere.”

Thompson, she told court, showed interest in her art portfolio that she kept on her phone and they exchanged contact information before she left to join friends.

But because she was so “super excited” about following up with “an exciting opportunity,” she said she left early, accepting Thompson’s invitation to meet him at the trendy restaurant Joy On Avenue.

“I was very, very eager and excited to see what was in store for me,” she testified.

Later, she accepted his offer to drive her home; on the ride, he mentioned a “networking” event at a cottage, with a “mixed group” of professionals. (The cottage was owned by Thompson’s friend, lawyer Calvin Barry, a former prosecutor turned defence lawyer.)

But it turned into a small gathering

By the time the weekend came around, Thompson was flagging to the student that people were dropping off the guest list.

Yet the student said she was still surprised when only Thompson’s friend — identified in court only as Tracey — showed up. She spent most of her testimony Monday describing how the older pair pushed her to drink and smoke pot while they dangled potential opportunities, such as being an “ambassador” or model, which made her suspicious.

Twice, she said, Thompson told her: “Feel free to get naked.”

“I was really uncomfortable,” she said, testifying she eventually went to bed.

The next day, the witness said she expected more people “to be flowing in.” Instead, two women — the complainants — arrived with a dog.��

The witness told court she saw Thompson getting “feely” with the new arrivals, and saw him massaging one of them.

The next morning — the morning after the alleged assaults — the witness testified she spoke to the complainants about what had happened. Both expressed shock, anger, confusion and feeling “taken advantage of,” she testified.

Then, at the end of the weekend, the three women left together.��

The witness’s startling allegation

Later, on the second day of trial, came the young woman’s allegation that she felt that Tracey had been enlisted to act like Ghislaine Maxwell, the woman who procured scores of young women and teens for U.S. sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.

During cross-examination, Shemesh tried to underscore the absurdity of this proposition — pointing to the fact the student kept in touch with Tracey by text after the weekend, including asking her for advice. (Tracey declined the Star’s request for an interview.)

“This is what I struggle with,” Shemesh told the witness Thursday.

“Why don’t you ever in your text message say to her ‘I’m confused, we had this weekend, I had these mixed signals, I really want you to be my mentor, what is it?’”

“That’s a great question,” the student answered, saying that in 2022 she was still “young and dumb” and stuck “feeling like this doesn’t always feel right but somehow it feels normal — and it’s not healthy but it’s all I know and that stems from my past of various confusing situations, very abusive situations.”

She added she didn’t want to, “I guess, displease others, in a sense.”

Shemesh also questioned the young woman on why, after arriving back home, she sent Thompson a text that read: “Just arrived home safe! Thanks for the fun, relaxing cottage weekend,” with a smiley face emoji.

This was after the car ride home with the two complainants, Shemesh noted — “where you talked about ‘Ms. Maxwell’ grooming you, right?”

The student replied she sent that text so that Thompson “wouldn’t think that I knew something was off.”

“You were lying,” Shemesh said.

After a pause, the student said: “I wasn’t being fully honest with the way that I felt after the weekend.”

On Friday, much of the focus was on various photos the student took over the weekend��including shots of the two complainants in bikinis, which Shemesh called “racy.”

The student said the women were being playful and that Thompson had urged her to take the photos, and “so I did.” (Later, the student agreed she never sent the photo to Thompson.)

What it may mean for Thompson’s career

In between court dates, Thompson attended Wednesday’s council session via video link; when he spoke for the first time, some of his colleagues exchanged brief glances but otherwise showed no reaction.��

It was consistent with the muted response his trial has been met with at city hall, and differs from how council has responded to previous allegations of impropriety against one of their own. In 2013, after Rob Ford made vulgar comments about a female staffer, members pointedly turned their backs on him when he spoke in the chamber — albeit, by then, Ford had already caused a string of controversies that alienated most councillors.��

On Wednesday, Mayor Olivia Chow declined to speak about Thompson’s alleged behaviour, saying it would be inappropriate to comment on a case before the courts. She signalled she had no intention of removing him from the FIFA World Cup 2026 steering committee, which she appointed him to in March. She told reporters he had been elected by his residents, and as former chair of the economic development committee had an “extensive Rolodex” that would help the city stage a successful tournament.��

The Star emailed questions to the 23 other members of council asking whether they had concerns about Thompson attending council while on trial, or staying on as a member of the World Cup committee. Although some council members have privately said they’re troubled by the details aired at trial this week, only one responded on the record.��

Thompson “is entitled to the presumption of innocence until the court renders its decision, which I hope will be swiftly delivered,” wrote Dianne Saxe (Ward 11, University-Rosedale). She noted that voters re-elected him in October 2022 knowing he was facing charges, and by provincial law he’s entitled to keep his seat unless he’s serving a prison sentence.��

“If he is found guilty, I think he should resign,” she wrote.��

With files from Mahdis Habibinia