The trial continues this week for local lawyer Estes Fonkalsrud - accused of sexual assault, inviting to touch in a sexual manner, and contact for a sexual purpose. The trial began back in April of this year but came to a stop when Fonkalsrud fired his defense team.

Judge Mills presided over the court as prosecutor Todd Wellsch and Fonkalsrud's new defense team, comprised of Aaron Fox and co-council Darren Kraushaar, questioned three different witnesses.

The charges stem back to a weekend in May of 2016 at Buffalo Pound Lake where Fonkalsrud, a lake resident himself, was a guest at a neighboring cabin.

The first witness to the stand described it as a typical night at the lake.  He stated that he, Fonkalsrud, the cabin owners, and two others shared a dinner that evening and had a night of comradery. 

He testified that he took note of how interested Fonkalsrud was in the cabin owners' new smoker, which he had looked at several times throughout the night. 

The second witness to take the stand was the daughter of the cabin owners, a friend of the accuser.  

Prosecutor Wellsch began asking her about the day and what her friends had done leading up to the alleged incident. The witness said her cousin and another friend were planning on heading out to the lake to for the night, but when that friend dropped out, they invited their other friend out to the lake- the plaintiff.

The witness admitted she and the other two girls had been drinking alcohol, having taken vodka from her parents' liquor cabinet.  The witness said she had one drink and believes her cousin and the accuser had two. 

When asked about her relationship with Fonkaslrud, she explained how he was friends with her parents and often came over to their cabin.  When asked about his behavior, however, she said he seemed a little off that night and not like himself, getting a weird feeling based on the way he was talking to everyone. 

Throughout the night, the witness said Fonkalsrud had come and talked to the girls in the living room, kitchen, and in the door frame of her bedroom, speaking to her more often than he ever had before. 

As the night was coming to an end and most of the guests had left, the girls watched a movie before retiring to a bedroom.

The witness said she and the girls were planning to sleep in her room but they decided to change their plans when they couldn't all fit in the bed. The accuser and the cousin decided to go sleep in the adjacent room. 

It was later that the witness' cousin and the accuser came into her room.  The witness said she noticed how distraught the accuser was. She was "crying and panicked", she said.

The witness believes her friend had been outside.  She noticed her feet were all dirty and she was cold to the touch. She wasn't sure what happened, but she was told that "Estes did something." They all went to the living room to speak to the witnesses mother and tell her what happened. They woke up the father and he called 9-1-1. 

The accuser said she was abducted.

Police took statements from everyone present that night and the witness admitted she and the other girls had lied in their statements. They decided to leave out the fact they had been drinking, fearing her parents would be upset.  She added that a week later they went and corrected their statements.

The third and final witness of the day, the cousin, appeared via short circuit camera from a separate room. 

She remembered, at one point during the evening, when the accuser went into the washroom and Fonkalrud followed.  She said the accuser left immediately after he entered the washroom.

She testified that she and the accuser were planning on sneaking out that night since she heard from the accuser that Fonkalsrud told her he was having a party.

When questioned by the police, the defense pointed out, she said she was asleep when the accuser left the cabin.  However, during her testimony, she said she was awake when the accuser left after Fonkalsrud allegedly knocked on the window.  Fox suggested that she changed her statement because saying she was awake would give her more power. 

The defense questioned the witness further about this alleged encounter between the accuser and Fonkalsrud. She did detail that she saw them go off together, but previously said that Fonkalsrud had grabbed her on the way out.

She also recalled a white truck on the premises and that the accuser was locked in the vehicle. Fonkalsrud does not own a white truck, though, and the accuser did not say she was locked in a vehicle during her testimony. The witness added she has no idea where she got the white truck idea from or recall how she heard about the locked truck. Fox went on to press on this matter, clearly trying to show the uncertainty of the witness.

Fonkaslrud then turned to the defense attorney's students and said: "he's good."

The trial continues Tuesday at the Court of Queens Bench.