WARNING: This article contains details about a criminal sexual assault trial and may be disturbing to some readers. If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, contact the Central Okanagan  at (250) 763-4613 or the RCMP.

Twelve jurors sat in a Kelowna Supreme Court, Wednesday, for the first full day of a sexual assault trial.

Brandon Hildebrand Acosta has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman. 

The survivor's identity is protected under a court-ordered ban, barring her name and any identifying features from publication. 

The woman, who will be referred to under the pseudonym Jane Doe, took the stand on July 10 and told the court that she experienced two non-consensual acts of sexual assault from Acosta. 

She told the court that during the second alleged assault, she pretended to be asleep, but Acosta persisted and had penetrative sex with her. She testified that she was wearing a tampon at the time of the incident and despite this, Acosta continued to have sex with her. 

When asked under cross-examination why she did not fight or tell him to stop, Doe said, "My body was frozen and I was scared."

She said she was paralyzed with fear and stayed silent. Doe said all she could do was do a countdown in her head, while Acosta continued to penetrate her with her tampon in. 

The In the publication, dissociation and paralysis, also known as tonic immobility, is described as a common and documented reaction to sexual assaults when a person's safety feels threatened and escape seems impossible. 

During cross-examination, Acosta's defence lawyer asked Doe if she voiced her concerns after the alleged assault.

"Did you have a conversation with him afterwards? Did you give him an opportunity to explain himself?" 

To which Doe said no, she was too scared to question his actions. 

"He had just sexually assaulted me, I wasn't going to call him and say 'Hey, you raped me'," said Doe. 

She said Acosta left shortly after the second alleged assault without speaking to her. Doe said she did not contact Acosta afterwards due to fear and instead filed a police report. 

The trial is scheduled to continue for the next seven days. 

In the Canadian court system, Crown prosecutors can choose to press charges as either summary or indictable offences, depending on the evidence available and the severity of the alleged crime. A summary conviction is used for crimes that are considered less severe than indictable offences and carries comparatively mild punishments if the accused is found guilty, with a maximum prison sentence of six months and/or a fine of $5,000. 

Acosta however, is facing charges of sexual assault as an indictable offence, which is considered to be a more severe category of crime. Maximum penalties for indictable offences vary but according to the Criminal Code of Canada, being found guilty of committing sexual assault as an indictable offence can be liable to imprisonment of up to 10 years, with a minimum punishment of one year in prison.