The trial continues for 43-year-old Moose Jaw lawyer Estes Fonkalsrud, who has been accused of sexual assault, inviting to touch in a sexual manner, and contact for a sexual purpose.

The accusations made against Fonkalsrud are alleged to have taken place during the 2016 May long weekend at Buffalo Pound.

The defendant took questions from his lawyer, Aaron Fox, Wednesday morning, with the line of questioning focused on cabin locations and layouts, lighting outside of the cabins, telephone logs, a wood pellet smoker, and the defendant’s recollection of what took place during the May 2016 weekend.

Fonkalsrud denied all charges against him.

Wednesday afternoon saw prosecutor Todd Wellsch’s cross-examination of Fonkalsrud.

While on the stand, Fonkalsrud admitted he consumed alcohol during the evening of May 21 and the early morning hours of May 22 while dining and hanging out with friends at several of their cabins at Buffalo Pound. There was “...a lot of socializing?” asked Wellsch. “Absolutely,” replied Fonkalsrud. He said that at the end of the evening he “didn’t feel drunk at all.”

During questioning, the defendant stated his interactions with the accuser and her friends were limited throughout the evening. Fonkalsrud claims his demeanor was not inappropriate around the accuser and her friends.

Fonkalsrud said he decided to go home shortly before 2:00 am on May 22. Before leaving a friend’s cabin, the accused took a piece of leftover steak from the evening’s meal and walked to his own cabin.

Upon arrival, he turned on his barbeque and went inside to change his clothes – into his housecoat, Fonkalsrud said. While preparing to reheat the steak on the barbeque, he heard someone outside of the cabin. Fonkalsrud yelled, “What are you girls doing?”

According to the defendant’s testimony, the accuser tripped up the stairs on to the defendant’s deck. Fonkalsrud said he did not notice the young girl was not wearing shoes at the time.

He went back into his cabin and got dressed. When Fonkalsrud came out of his bedroom, he said the young girl was standing at the entrance of his cabin. She asked if she could use Fonkalsrud’s bathroom. The defendant said she could. The girl then went into the bathroom, at which time he went to clean up the kitchen.

Fonkalsrud said he encouraged the girl to go back to the cabin at which she was staying. The young girl fell down the deck stairs as she was leaving Fonkalsrud’s cabin. “Are you okay?” he asked. There was no response from the young girl. She walked away. Fonkalrsrud claims that’s the last contact he had with the accuser.

After the girl left, Fonkaslrud turned the barbeque off, went into his cabin, cleaned the kitchen, and called the cabin where the young girl was staying. The “situation was odd,” said Fonkalsrud. He left a voice mail message for his friend, at whose cabin the young girl was staying.

The defendant then once again changed into his housecoat and got ready for bed. While in the bathroom, his phone rang. Unable to answer (due to wet hands), the defendant later returned the cabin owner’s call. Several times with no answer. Fonkalsrud then texted the cabin owner and turned in for the night.

Due to the ongoing renovations at Fonkalsrud’s cabin, the defendant slept in his living room. Before falling asleep, he recalled hearing a loud pounding on his door.

Without looking out a window to see who was at the door, and without answering the door, Fonkalsrud went and put on his housecoat. “I was naked,” Fonkalsrud said. When he went to answer the door, no one was there.

Fonkalsrud said he saw the cabin owner walking away. Fonkalsrud called after him. The cabin owner’s loud reply was inaudible, but “it was about girls,” explained Fonkalsrud.

He tried calling the cabin owner, but could not reach him. The defendant had no further contact with anyone that night. The only other interaction between the defendant and cabin owner was a 10:40 am text the morning of May 23 from Fonkalsrud.

When the prosecutor, Todd Wellsch asked the defendant when he became aware of what the cabin owner had been told by the accuser, Fonkalsrud said, “I don’t know. Maybe after I was arrested by police?"

The first contact Fonkalsrud had with law enforcement in relation to the May 2016 long weekend was on Tuesday, May 24, when police came to Fonkalsrud’s law office and explained “what happened” and arrested him.

Fonkalsrud, who was born in Edmonton and spent time as a youth in Toronto before moving to Saskatchewan, has been a lawyer for close to 20 years.

In 2012, he purchased a cabin at Buffalo Pound. At that time, Fonkalsrud split his time between living in Regina and out at the lake. It was in 2013 that the defendant began living at the lake full time.

The trial resumes Thursday morning.

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