The Sherwood Park man accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl allegedly met the teen on a dating website.
28-year-old Michael Edward Terrance Hoffart appeared in court Wednesday morning. The man has been charged with sexual assault and sexual interference.
Back in early January, RCMP officers said the pair met through the online dating website okcupid.com, and that the girl said she was 20.
The teen, who cannot be identified, testified in court. She told the courtroom she was using an online dating service and represented her age as 20-years-old. She also told the court she believed if she had told Hoffart she was fifteen during online chats, the conversation would end.
Police testified they saw a car parked behind a skatepark in the town of Gibbons on January. 3rd.
The officers approached the vehicle and saw a female naked from the waist down and a male fully clothed in the driver's seat.
Hoffart told officers they met online a week prior and that her profile showed her to be 20-years-old.
RCMP Constable Donald Debow testified he was suspicious because at the time of the offence, "she didn't appear to be sixteen years of age."
Const. Debow told the court the girl told him she was 20-years-old, but he he estimated the at five feet tall and only 100 pounds, the teen appeared to be as young as 12.
Hoffart will not know his fate until next year. The trial is scheduled to continue on Feb. 17th.
With files from CTV's David Ewasuk
