A former chief of the Fort Saint James Volunteer Fire Department appeared in court Tuesday on sexual assault charges.
Robert Bennett is facing three sexual assault charges from three different women with the department.
One of the women, Kirsten Rudolph-Smith took the stand to testify on an incident dating back to July, 2013 where she alleges she was sexually assaulted by Bennett.
She says she went to the District and RCMP with her complaint, though she says the District couldn’t follow-up on any sexual assault claims and says the police told her what happened was not considered assault and would not make it to court.
Rudolph-Smith says she then made a sexual harrassment claim against Bennett with the District, which she says they intended to follow-up on.
She says she wanted to make sure “This doesn’t get swept under the rug like every other complaint with the District.”
It was then, Rudolph-Smith says, that she took her claims to the local paper.
The trial is expected to last all week at the Prince George Courthouse.