A former Blatchley Middle School teacher spent the morning under intense cross examination from the defense attorney for Joe Robidou, the woman’s one-time boss accused of sexually assaulting her and two colleagues.
Attorney Julie Willoughby asked the witness to review the alleged assaults in intimate detail, testing her credibility, particularly around an evening in January 2013 when Robidou visited her at home, allegedly exposed himself, and placed his hands around her neck while saying the words, “This would be easier if you were passed out.”
Following the incident, the woman sought the counsel of friends who took her to the SAFV shelter, where she was advised to obtain a criminal trespass order from the Sitka Police Department. Shortly thereafter, police launched an investigation, which produced allegations by two other women working at the school.
The defense went to lengths to establish the witness’s prior intimate relationship with Robidou, which the witness admitted was close, but non-sexual. She admitted to “trying to be one of the cool kids” during her divorce in 2009, when she and Robidou developed their friendship, and regularly attending Friday night evenings-out with Robidou, his wife, and other teachers at Blatchley.
She admitted to accepting gifts — including Victoria’s Secrets lingerie — from Robidou, and wearing it to school. But she denied that these gifts — and gifts given to her children — conferred any form of sexual consent.
“I feel like you’re trying to make me out to be someone I’m not,” the witness told Willoughby.
She flat-out denied any sexual relationship with Robidou, and said that rumors of an affair had caused her to take stock of their friendship, and she asked him to stay away — to the point of asking a teacher in the next classroom to find an excuse to stop by anytime Robidou was present.
The defense plans to obtain testimony from other school staff, in the hope of painting a different picture of the relationship.
A third victim has yet to appear on the stand. Superior Court Judge David George may consider asking the jury to hear testimony on Saturday.