Accused takes stand in Kamloops trial for violent rape | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Accused takes stand in Kamloops trial for violent rape

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KAMLOOPS - The man accused of raping a woman while holding a gun to her head has made his case in Kamloops Supreme Court.

Taylor Matchett, 28, is accused of picking up a woman on the North Shore in 2009, taking her to McArthur Island Park, and raping her while he held a gun to her head.

The woman cannot be identified due to a court-ordered publication ban.

Matchett took the stand today, July 13, to give his account of what happened the night of Nov. 11.

He admits to picking up a prostitute on Tranquille Road with the agreement of having anal intercourse. Matchett says he paid the woman $60 before driving to a parking lot.

Once they arrived, Matchett told the court that they got out of the car and proceeded to have anal intercourse on the hood of his then-girlfriend's car.

He had driven his former partner to work that day and had access to her vehicle.

"On the way home I made the decision to pick up a street walker on Tranquille Road in order to pay for sexual services," Matchett said.

This wasn't his first time picking up a prostitute in the area, and says he would drive the women home after their encounters. Crown prosecutor Catriona Elliott asked Matchett why he would do that.

"That's the respectful thing to do," Matchett responded.

Matchett told the court that once their intercourse was done, he realized the condom had broken and told the woman about it. He says the woman then told him to pay her $500.

"I asked her why and she said so she wouldn't go to the cops and tell them I raped her," Matchett said.

He says that's when he got in his car and started to drive away. The woman began yelling for her belongings that she left in the vehicle, and he threw them out the window to her.

Matchett says he went home and then picked his girlfriend up from work. He said saw the prostitute about three days later at a coffee shop and she didn't say anything.

"I assumed that she recognized me or recognized the car," Matchett said.

But Matchett says that wasn't the last they saw each other. He told the court that about 10 days later, he "engaged in her services" again, and she brought up nothing about their previous sexual encounter.

Elliott suggested the woman had no reason to believe Matchett had a "wad of cash" on him, and didn't have any idea who he was, so blackmailing didn't seem logical.

The woman took the stand in court yesterday, July 12, where she explained that Matchett pulled a gun on her when they arrived at the park and then raped her.

Matchett was arrested at his home in Edmonton last November, six years after the incident happened.

Crown is expected to continue its cross-examination of Matchett this afternoon, and the trial is set to wrap up this week.


To contact a reporter for this story, email Ashley Legassic or call 250-319-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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