TORONTO — The third woman to testify at Jian Ghomeshi's sexual assault trial said they were kissing on a park bench when the former broadcaster suddenly bit her shoulder and put his hands around her neck.
The woman, who cannot be identified, said she had consented to the "making out," but she had not agreed to what followed.
"He was kissing my neck and I just felt all of a sudden I felt his hand on my shoulders and his teeth . And then his hands were around my neck and he was squeezing," the woman said in a trembling voice.
"Some kind of switch felt like it had happened. It wasn't the same person there. I tried to get out of it and then his hand was on my mouth, sort of smothering me."
The woman, who is the final complainant to testify at Ghomeshi's trial, said the alleged incident happened in the early 2000s, shortly after they first met at a dance festival in Toronto.
She was with other people at the community event when Ghomeshi approached her from behind and rested his arms on her shoulders. When asked by someone how they knew each other, she said Ghomeshi replied "We're engaged."
"We weren't," the woman told court on Monday "It was taking ownership of me in some way that was just surprising. It was a familiarity that was surprising to me."
Ghomeshi and the woman went out for dinner after that interaction, and on another night, met in an isolated part of a city park where they began kissing on a bench.
It was while they were kissing that the alleged assault took place, court heard.
She said as soon as she freed herself from his hold, she left the park without saying a word, got into a cab and went home.
"My instinct was to just sort of get out of it physically," she said. "There was nothing about this that I wanted to be a part of. It didn't feel safe or sexy."
She met again with Ghomeshi for dinner and drinks and then they went back to her place for "romantic" interactions.
The woman said she did not tell police about that night when she initially came forward because she had been embarrassed and didn't think the encounter was relevant.
When pressed further on why she would have Ghomeshi come back to her place after he had allegedly assaulted her, the woman said the former CBC host was a charmer.
Some time later, the woman said she went to a party with Ghomeshi where he repeatedly berated one of her close friends. The incident set off "warning bells" for the woman and resulted in an argument which ended her dates with Ghomeshi.
"I got out of the car, slammed the door, told him he was crazy, told him to never call me again," she said.
The woman said she didn't go to police with her allegations in 2003 because she wanted to put the incident behind her.
"I just wanted it gone. I wasn't sure that there was anything to go on," she said, adding that she also didn't want to jeopardize the career of her brother, who was in the arts industry.
"I didn't want to be the hysterical sister...I thought if I just keep myself out of the line of fire then it's probably best for everybody."
It was only when she saw similar allegations other women trickle out in the media following CBC's dismissal of Ghomeshi in October 2014 that the woman decided to speak out.
"I realized that I wasn't an isolated incident," she said. "It was time to talk."
The woman's testimony Monday followed a closed-door hearing requested by Ghomeshi's lawyer, who said the complainant gave a statement to police on Friday that was not fully disclosed to the defence until Sunday.
The 48-year-old former CBC Radio star was charged with four counts of sexual assault, and one count of overcome resistance by choking, which he has pleaded not guilty to.
He acknowledged in 2014 that he engaged in rough sex acts, but said it was consensual.
