A former hip hop dancer who briefly worked in St. Albert will have to wait more than a month for a decision in his sexual assault case.
Closing arguments were delivered in Court of Queen’s Bench in Edmonton on Thursday afternoon in the case of Oliver Nino Damaso — better known in the local dance community as “O.J.” — who is charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation stemming from an incident in Sherwood Park in April 2009.
But given the amount of case law cited by both lawyers during the two-day trial and other scheduling conflicts, Justice Darlene Acton advised that she would not be able to deliver her decision until Wednesday, Nov. 2.
“I will endeavour to get to this quickly,” Acton told both parties.
Just prior to his arrest in March 2010, Damaso began working at the Art of Dance studio in St. Albert’s Campbell Business Park North. At the time of the incident for which he was charged, Damaso worked as an instructor at 3rd Street Beat Entertainment in Edmonton. He was subsequently relieved of his duties at both studios.
The court heard during testimony Wednesday that it was April 18, 2009, after a dance class that the 16-year-old complainant — who cannot be named under a publication ban — asked Damaso for a ride to her house in Sherwood Park. With the house empty, she was giving Damaso a tour when they started kissing and taking off each other’s clothes. Those acts were consensual, the complainant testified, but when sexual intercourse started, she told him to stop. Soon after, the doorbell rang, interrupting them. Damaso left soon after.
During closing arguments, Damaso’s lawyer, Mark Facundo, argued that, while his actions were “inappropriate and perhaps unprofessional,” they were not grounds for sexual assault or sexual exploitation. He also argued that Damaso’s position was not the same as that of an employer or a teacher in a formal school setting.
“A teacher or coach in a school is certainly in a position of authority,” Facundo said. “To call Mr. Damaso a ‘teacher’ is simply not enough.”
While the age of sexual consent in Canada is 16, someone under 18 cannot legally consent to sex with a person in a position of trust or authority.
“It may be frowned upon to be in a relationship with someone 10 years older, but it’s not illegal,” Facundo argued.
Facundo also pointed out that the complainant continued to communicate with Damaso after the incident, in some cases saying she loved him, and did not come forward until she found Damaso’s phone number on another student’s phone.
Meanwhile, Crown prosecutor Maria Caffaro argued that the complainant was indeed in a position of vulnerability that only grew as she and Damaso got closer.
“She continued to idolize and look up to her instructor,” she said.
Caffaro also said that it took time for the complainant to process exactly what had happened on the day in question and that she had been “used.”
“Her ultimate realization was that what happened that night was nothing anyone would call friendly,” she said.
She also said that Damaso’s testimony that they were in an intimate relationship was at odds with his described actions after the incident.
“Before having sex, she expressed an interest in lyrical dance, and he said he would help her,” Caffaro argued. “After having sex, lyrical dance was of no interest to him whatsoever.”
