The youngest of two Prince George women alleging they were sexually abused by their stepfather from an early age said during testimony Monday that he would strike her with a length of wood the next day if she resisted his advances.
Even if she eventually complied, he would hit her with a two-foot length of two-by-four that was kept in her room to remind her to remain obedient, said the woman, now 20 years old.
She said the beatings would start with 100 blows to her legs, buttocks and back, and increase from there if she cried or struggled.
"I never had to go to the hospital but it would hurt the next day," she said. "Lots of times I would have to sleep on my stomach and I would be sore for a few days after that."
A court-ordered publication ban prohibits printing the names of both the accused and the alleged victims. The accused faces 14 sex-related charges, including sexual assault, sexual interference of a person under 14 years old, publishing child pornography and bestiality.
The court heard Monday he would also take away privileges and force her to spend all her free time in her room where she would have to read the Bible and pray before apologizing. She was confined to her room for two to three days on the longest occasion, the court was told.
Although the punishment was ostensibly for failing to do a chore or having a messy room, it was always issued the day after she argued about any sexual activity the night before, she testified, even if she had eventually complied with what he wanted.
"The fact that I argued about it was disrespectful," she said.
She said there were times when, although she knew she would be beaten the next day, she would refuse to have sex with him, because she was too tired and just wanted to go to her own bed to sleep.
She was prohibited from doing any homework after 10 p.m. because that was her stepfather's time and sessions could last as long as three hours, particularly when video recording of their activities involved. As a result, she would sometimes be up as early as 4 a.m. to do homework, the court heard.
She said she would take codeine or drink alcohol until she passed out to avoid having sex with him and began cutting her feet because she liked the pain.
"It was the only thing I could feel," she said.
She later started cutting herself in sevens on her upper thighs because it was a holy number and was hoping the blood sacrifice would "save me from my life."
She said he would often maintain that passages in the Bible entitled fathers to "break in" their daughters, and teach them about sex, although he never provided specific quotations.
"I did mention a few times, around when I was 17, that I wanted him to just be my father, because he would always say 'you're so lucky you have a great father and you have me to do this for you," she said. "And I would say, I just wanted him to be my father, I would just like him to stop, because it was hard for me to get on with my life and he would say I didn't really know what I want and this was for me and this was good for me."
When she turned 18 years old, she moved out of the house and the sessions with her stepfather ended, the court heard. In December 2010, slightly less than a year later, she told her mother her story and the police were notified.
Crown prosecution is arguing the man had groomed two of his stepdaughters since they were about 12 years old. The activity progressed to sexual intercourse once they turned 14 and eventually forced them to have sex with each other, the court was told. Allegations of bestiality involving the family dog have also been raised.
