Caution: This story contains details some readers may find upsetting.
GUELPH – A jury has found Palmerston resident Michael Hurst guilty of sexually assaulting two more women in a trial that concluded on Dec. 7.
Arraigned in Guelph Superior Court on Nov. 28, Hurst pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault against two women, and one count of an indecent act.
The jury acquitted Hurst on one count of sexual assault, and the indecent act.
Court heard the two women were longtime friends of Hurst when the offences took place more than a decade ago, between 2003 and 2007.
The women were in social groups which included Hurst. They would go to bars, host get-togethers, watch hockey and drink together at their houses.
The Advertiser is not reporting on many specific details about the sexual assaults, including where they happened and the women’s names, because of a publication ban designed to protect victims’ identities.
In one instance, court heard that Hurst touched a woman without her consent, attempted to kiss her and then threatened her, saying he could push her down and have his way.
The same woman testified that in another instance, she had fallen asleep drunk in her bed only to be woken by Hurst having non-consensual sex with her.
Another woman testified she too awoke to find Hurst raping her after she had fallen asleep drunk.
The recent trial marked Hurst’s third involving sexual offences dating back several years.
He was sentenced in May to two years of house arrest, followed by three years of probation, after a judge found him guilty of sexually assaulting two women, and committing an indecent act in front of an additional three women, between 2007 and 2015.
The house arrest sentence was paused in November after a jury found Hurst guilty of sexually assaulting another two women between 2017 and 2020, and a Guelph Superior Court judge sentenced him to six months behind bars.
He will remain in prison and is expected back in court in the new year for sentencing in the latest trial.
In total, there are nine women Hurst has been found guilty of committing criminal, sexual offences against.
