William Kelly Campbell took the stand Thursday to defend himself against allegations of sexual assault.

Campbell, 23, stands accused of the offence alongside his brother Edwin Codey Campbell, 25.

The name of the woman who has accused the brothers cannot be published. Justice John Vertes presided over this week’s trial.

William Kelly Campbell lived in Whitehorse at the time of the alleged sexual assault in the early-morning hours of Nov. 29, 2016. He now lives in Edmonton.

He told his lawyer, André Roothman, that he has known the woman since elementary school. He also saw her at parties because she was friends with Edwin’s girlfriend, whose name the Star has chosen not to publish.

He said he spoke to the complainant at some of these parties, and saw her drinking, mostly vodka, at several of the gatherings.

Roothman asked Campbell what his drinking habits were.

“Almost every day,” the accused replied.

Campbell testified he first saw the complainant the night before the incident when she arrived at a Skyline complex apartment with Edwin and his girlfriend.

He said he was at this apartment drinking with several of his friends, estimating that up to 15 people were there. He admitted to using cocaine that night but didn’t know how much.

Campbell said he had stayed at this apartment for a few days prior to that day partying.

Campbell said the complainant arrived with alcohol. The group had a two-litre bottle of cider and a 26-ounce bottle of Wiser’s whiskey.

He said the whiskey did not last long. The complainant drank from the bottle like everyone else, he added, but he did not keep track of how much she drank.

He said Edwin, his girlfriend and the complainant left at around 5 a.m. He knew they were heading to his grandfather’s house in Riverdale.

He said he was supposed to go with them, but they left without him, forcing him to walk to his grandfather’s house with no jacket. This took him seven to 10 minutes.

He found the group at the residence all lying on a bed in the guestroom. The grandfather was not present.

Since there had been a fresh snowfall, Campbell thought his grandfather would be out checking sidewalks for a family business.

Campbell said he sat on the floor next to the bed and engaged in the group’s conversation, with the complainant participating.

Eventually, his grandfather returned, and the group pretended to sleep. He explained that since it had snowed, he was supposed to go work for his father, but didn’t want to be called into work that morning.

“I didn’t want him (grandfather) to be upset with me,” Campbell told the court.

He said his grandfather did say something to try and get him up and go to work. When he wasn’t successful, the grandfather closed the door and left the room.

Campbell next said he asked the complainant if she wanted to come with him to the other room. He said she stood up and followed him.

They left the room and stuck to the wall. He did not want to be spotted by his grandfather, who he could see in the living room sitting on a chair. They crossed the hall to another bedroom.

He said the complainant walked into the room and lay down on a bed. He told the court he asked her if he could lay beside her, and she said yes.

He said they talked about various topics, like her schooling, his job and more. He touched her exposed stomach, but said it was not under her shirt.

He testified that they kissed, and that the complainant took her own pants off and lifted up her shirt. At this point, he tried to have sex with her, but was unable to because he could not get an erection. He said this was due to the cocaine use, and he was losing attraction to the complainant.

Eventually, he gave up and walked out of the room. He said he had put on a condom while trying to have sex, but flushed it down the toilet.

He walked up to the kitchen and found his brother and grandfather there. Edwin asked if he had slept with the complainant; he replied he had tried. Campbell sat with both men but eventually got into an argument with his grandfather, which made him want to leave the house.

Before departing, he stopped by the complainant and asked her if she needed anything.

He testified she said she was good, and he left to return to the Skyline apartment.

He drank more and got an hour of sleep on a recliner. He then returned to his grandfather’s house, where he was eventually arrested.

Roothman asked if the complainant had requested he stop at any time during the sexual encounter.

“Not at any time,” Campbell answered.

Roothman asked about an encounter Campbell had had with the complainant in the summer of 2017. Campbell said this incident caused him to be arrested for a breach of conditions.

He’d heard that one of the complainant’s friends was talking about the case and calling him a rapist around Whitehorse. He saw this friend in the Skyline parking lot, and testified that he confronted that person.

This confrontation brought him to tears, he said, as the ordeal has affected his life. The friend was in a car. The complainant came out from behind the car and threatened to call the RCMP on Campbell. He said he ran away.

Crown counsel Amy Porteous commented that it seemed that Campbell remembered a lot of details surrounding that night. She asked if he recalled talking to the police. Campbell said he did, because he had nothing to hide.

Campbell explained that he did not give a lot of detail at first because he did not know who was accusing him of sexual assault.

He admitted he did have a good idea, since he’d had sex recently with the complainant, but stated her name did not come up right away during questioning.

“I did not want to talk about sexual intercourse with a woman that I did not know was charging me,” he told the court.

Porteous asked if he hoped the police would drop the matter and move on. Campbell said he did, and that he did not hope that someone was charging him.

Porteous next asked about Campbell seeing his brother’s shoes at the jail. Campbell said he did see Edwin’s shoes, and it freaked him out.

She asked if he talked to his brother about the charges; he said they did not discuss them, explaining they were upset and knew the allegations were fake.

He added that he did not need to ask his brother for his side of the story because he knows Edwin is not a rapist.

Porteous asked if Campbell lied to police about the complainant being drunk because he knew she was too drunk to consent to sex. Campbell said he did not lie.

She asked why the grandfather was not happy. He explained that his grandfather does not like drinking at his house, nor people showing up drunk.

Porteous argued that the complainant was scared and didn’t actually want to go along with the sexual encounter. Campbell said she should have made that clear.

“If she was scared and didn’t want to be there, she should have said so,” he said.

Porteous asked about the embarrassment Campbell feels from these allegations. Campbell said he does feel embarrassed, and worries the allegations will label him.

With the proceedings concluding Thursday, Vertes said the case will be back in court July 16 for submissions and a decision.