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More than 13 years after she alleges she was raped by Grant Cichacki, a Calgary woman testified as the first of five women who say they were sexually assaulted by the former bar owner and manager.
The woman told a Calgary court that she called 911 immediately after the alleged assault in July 2013 and was taken to hospital, where a sexual assault kit was collected.
Police kept her underwear for evidence and took a statement, but charges weren’t laid until 2023, after investigators got back in touch once they’d charged Cichacki with a more recent alleged sexual assault.
Cichacki, 45, is on trial on five charges of sexual assault involving women he worked with in the bar industry. The alleged assaults took place in 2006, 2013, 2017 and 2019.
At the time of the alleged offences, Cichacki was an owner and manager at several bars, including Watchman’s Pub on 17th Avenue S.W. and the French Maid strip club in Eau Claire, downtown.
Each of the women are expected to testify that after social outings with Cichacki, he sexually assaulted them in his home, according to prosecutor Peter Mackenzie’s opening statement to Court of King’s bench Justice Nick Devlin.
Mackenzie told the judge the women are expected to testify that they consumed alcohol with Cichacki and that when they had sexual contact with the accused “they felt impaired, felt they were going in and out of consciousness or felt they had lost consciousness or were asleep.”
The Crown’s first witness, AS, testified Wednesday that after drinking with a friend at the Calgary Stampede and Cowboys Casino on July 13, 2013, Cichacki showed up with a couple of friends around midnight.
At the time, AS was a waitress and bartender at two local strip clubs. She knew Cichacki from a handful of interactions. Cichacki was a manager at one of the clubs.
AS said that she and Cichacki chatted and eventually separated from their friends.
They had a couple more drinks together in the nightclub area of the venue before she said Cichacki proposed leaving for “Silverado” to meet friends. At the time, AS said she believed Silverado was another bar.
The two got into an Uber. Silverado, she learned as they approached, was the southwest neighbourhood where Cichacki lived, said AS.
Once at his home, AS said they had a couple more drinks before going to watch a movie in his bedroom.
‘I said no’
AS testified that she fell asleep on Cichacki’s bed while he was selecting a movie.
At the time, she said she was wearing a long dress and underwear.
Her next memory, according to AS, was waking up to Cichacki on top of her.
“I woke up to Grant trying to insert himself into me,” said AS through tears. “I put my hands up and I was trying to push him off me and I said ‘no.’”
AS said that Cichacki did not stop, “he just kept putting himself inside me.”
911 called
The assault lasted several minutes before he rolled over, according to AS’s testimony.
“I still had all my clothes on but my underwear was off,” she told the judge.
She told the judge she “would have been pretty intoxicated” at the time.
AS testified that she cried quietly until she heard Cichacki snoring and then grabbed her underwear from the floor and her shoes from the door and left his house, estimating it was around 2 a.m.
She called 911 and was picked up by an ambulance and taken for a sexual assault kit at the Sheldon Chumir Health Centre.
Police call 10 years later
Police took a statement and investigated but charges were never laid.
More than 10 years later, in October 2023, police announced that Cichacki had been charged with sexual assault stemming from a 2022 incident with an employee, a charge that has since been stayed by the Crown.
AS said that she saw a post by the Calgary Police Service about the charge and made a plan to contact investigators but received a call from an officer before she reached out.
In December 2023, police announced new charges against Cichacki, including the one related to AS.
The Crown’s case is expected to wrap up in about four weeks.
It is likely the trial will continue in the new year with defence lawyer Tonii Roulston’s case.