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An Ontario man says he was only looking for a therapeutic massage when he arranged for someone to come to his Halifax hotel room on the night of Feb. 21, 2017.

Paul Christopher Coburn, 47, of Burlington is accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl who showed up at his room at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel.

He’s on trial in Halifax provincial court on five charges: sexual assault, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, obtaining sexual services for consideration, and obtaining sexual services from a person under the age of 18 for consideration.

The girl, now 17, testified last week she was forced into prostitution by an Upper Hammonds Plains man who brought her to the city from New Glasgow on the afternoon of Feb. 21.

She said that after she entered Room 509 at the hotel, Coburn told her to remove her clothes and lie on the bed. She said Coburn got her to perform oral sex and then had intercourse with her.

Coburn took the stand in his own defence after the Crown closed its case Monday.

He said he was living in Maryland and working for a financial company when he made a business trip to Halifax on the day in question.

Coburn testified that he suffers from chronic back and neck pain and decided to get a massage after arriving at the hotel. After learning there were no openings at the hotel spa, he said he responded to an ad in the therapeutic services section of Craiglist, a classifieds website.

Following a series of text messages, the complainant showed up at Coburn's room at about 11:15 p.m. He said that after he paid her $80, she told him to undress and get under the sheets while she went into the bathroom and washed her hands.

Coburn said he never requested sexual services.

He said the complainant used oil or lotion to massage his back for about 20 minutes before asking him to roll over. After he flipped onto his back, he said he realized she had removed all her clothes except for her bra.

Coburn said she then climbed on top of him and initiated sexual intercourse.

He said he “partially” penetrated her before noticing blood on the sheet. “I moved off the bed and got dressed and asked her to do the same,” he said.

Coburn said there was no further conversation before the female left.

He told the court he had no reason that night to believe she was only 15, too young to legally have sex with an adult.

“She looked like a professional person coming to do a professional service,” Coburn said of his late-night visitor.

He said she carried herself in a mature, confident way, was wearing minimal makeup, was neatly dressed and appeared “classy but casual.”

Coburn said he also believed she was over 18 because of the way she was physically developed, describing her as “busty.”

“At any time, did she look 15 years of age?” defence lawyer Joel Pink asked.

“Absolutely not,” Coburn answered.

In addition, he said he asked her questions during small talk upon her arrival and she claimed she had been doing massages for about two years, was in college and had a roommate.

He said he also based his belief on Craigslist’s requirement that anyone posting an ad be at least 18, and the fact that the person he was texting with prior to her arrival, when asked if they wanted anything to drink, requested “vodka or rum.”

Coburn said he didn’t learn the female was underage until July 2017, when he was arrested on a Canada-wide warrant at the Toronto airport and transported to Halifax to face the charges.

On cross-examination, Coburn said he and his wife have been amicably separated since August 2016, six months before the incident. He said she and their two children still live in Bethesda, Md.

Crown attorney Carla Ball pointed out that one of the text messages Coburn received before the girl’s arrival read: “I’m on my way to do whatever you want.”

“I felt like I was reaching out and speaking with a massage person,” Coburn insisted.

He said he didn’t find it unusual for a massage therapist to ask for an alcoholic drink in advance of a session.

Ball asked Coburn why, after the girl straddled him, he didn’t question what she was doing or tell her to get off him.

“It happened very quickly,” he replied.

The prosecutor suggested Coburn was looking to have fun that evening and engage in sexual activity, “which is why you invited a young person on the internet to your (room) without asking anything about that person.”

She said Coburn doesn’t want to admit what actually happened that night because he has so much to lose.

“Absolutely not,” Coburn said. “I believe I was co-operative the whole way and have been telling the truth the whole way.”

Bethesda neighbour Mary Elizabeth Barrett and Oakville veterinarian Matthew Croskery, who called Coburn his closest friend, testified for the defence as character witnesses. Both said Coburn has a reputation as a truthful person with integrity.

Lawyers will make written submissions before the case returns to court in July for oral arguments.

Leeanthon Oliver, 34, of Upper Hammonds Plains was handed an eight-year sentence last September after pleading guilty to five charges, including two involving the girl: trafficking a person under the age of 18 and sexual interference.

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