Alleged Rape Victim Gives Testimony Against CityMan
CANTON - An Ogdensburg woman who passed out after a night of heavy drinking told a St. Lawrence County jury that she was startled when she awoke to find Raymond R. Bjork Jr. in her bedroom.
"I woke up and Ray was on top of me (having sex)," the woman said. "I told him to get off and he did."
Wednesday in St. Lawrence County Court, the soft-spoken woman recalled her ordeal on Valentine's Day in 2009. She testified for nearly 90 minutes in the trial of Bjork, who is accused of forcing his way into her home and raping her.
The woman, who was then 26 years old, testified she had a few drinks with friends at two bars in Ogdensburg on the evening of Feb. 13, 2009, before going to the Kozy Korner Tavern on New York Avenue. She had met Bjork that evening for the first time and repeatedly denied his advances at the tavern.
"He kept talking to me and I didn't want him to," the woman said.
She recalled having at least four beers and two shots at the Kozy Korner before the bar closed. She then went to a restaurant with a few people, while Bjork tagged along, for food.
The woman testified that she didn't remember leaving the parking lot of the restaurant, but recalled being placed inside a car. She was driven to a friend's home before passing out. The woman didn't remember how she got home or into her bedroom.
After the alleged incident, she drove to a friend's home in Lisbon and told her what had happened. Her friend drove her to the Ogdensburg police station to speak with an officer. She was then taken to Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, Ogdensburg, to be examined, the woman testified.
She met Ogdensburg Detective August J. Bonno at the hospital. After being interviewed, the detective had her call Bjork in a series of "controlled calls." The first telephone conversation was transcribed by an Ogdensburg police officer, while the second call was tape recorded. It's unknown whether the third call was recorded.
She testified that Bjork told her over the phone that she had let him inside her home and he performed oral sex on her. On the stand, the woman was adamant that she didn't let him in her home or consent to having sex.
When cross-examined by defense attorney Brian D. Pilatzke, the woman admitted to "usually having a six-pack of beer" when she partied on a weekend night with friends. Since the incident, however, she testified that she rarely drinks alcohol.
District Attorney Nicole M. Duve asked her whether she was attracted to Mr. Bjork at all that evening.
"Absolutely not," the woman said.
The last witness of the day, Mr. Bonno told the jury of seven men and five women about interviewing the woman at Claxton-Hepburn. He had discussed the series of "controlled calls" that she made to Mr. Bjork.
Mr. Bonno, now a sergeant, testified that Bjork, in chatting with the woman on the phone, repeatedly said he didn't have sexual intercourse with the woman. He did reportedly confess to performing other sexual acts on her.
Bjork is charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act and single counts of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree burglary, second-degree burglary as a sexually motivated felony and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle.
