Wed, October 13, 2004
It's a case of "he said, she said," but he was only 13 and she was his girlfriend's mom. Lori Scafidi, a 42-year-old Ottawa woman accused of having an affair with her daughter's underage boyfriend, allegedly bought the minor booze, rented him porn and even had sex with him while her 13-year-old daughter was sick in hospital.
Scafidi is on trial for sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference.
But yesterday the court heard counter-accusations that the now-15-year-old complainant with a shaky recollection of the incidents might be pursuing a court case just to bolster his reputation with his friends.
'IT WAS COOL'
The youth told the court yesterday he bragged to his friends about his sexcapades because, "I thought it was funny. It was cool." While he said they now make fun of him for it, he maintained under cross-examination the reputation of "being a pimp" for "boning a mom" is a good thing.
The youth testified he befriended Scafidi through her daughter and began spending more time with her than with his girlfriend. Scafidi would pick him up and drive him to school and later would sign him out of class when he called her, the boy said.
He told Crown prosecutor Stephen Donoghue the first sexual encounter with Scafidi was in March or April of 2003 at his father's house after Scafidi had signed him out of school and rented a porn video for him.
He said she had suggested the rental during a stop for coffee at Tim Horton's.
"Sure, I was supportive," he said of his reaction to her suggestion. "I was surprised somewhat."
The boy said he and Scafidi watched the video for about 15 minutes before he followed her into the kitchen and had sex with her on a countertop.
But in cross-examination he said his first sexual encounter with Scafidi was her giving him oral sex at her house while they were watching television.
'TALKING TRASH'
"It's not something I think about every day. It's something I'd rather not think about," the teen said after being confronted with inconsistencies in his testimony.
The alleged illicit relationship, which he testified involved seven to 10 instances of sexual intercourse at Scafidi's house and his father's house over a two-month period, was cut short when Scafidi's daughter found out he had cheated on her with another schoolgirl.
He said the liaisons came to light after he heard Scafidi was "talking trash" about him. He said he vandalized Scafidi's car in retaliation, and threatened to kill her. He went to police only after his father found a lengthy letter Scafidi had written to him after the breakup.
The trial continues today.
sean.mckibbon@ott.sunpub.com