“Monsters look like normal people.”
A witness in the trial of Michael Haaima told the court she learned that lesson the hard way after meeting the Kingston man through Tinder when she was 18.
The woman, whose identity is protected under a publication ban, testified before Justice Robyn Ryan Bell that when she first met Haaima around 2017 or 2018, he appeared “normal,” “charming,” and attractive. But she said her perception of him changed dramatically after what she described as a sudden and frightening incident inside his apartment, where she alleged he grabbed her by the throat and pinned her against a wall without warning.
Her testimony began on Monday, May 25, 2026, at the Frontenac County Court House, where the mammoth trial of Haaima is taking place.
“It’s something that I think about on a daily basis because you don’t really realize that, you know?” she testified. “Monsters look like normal people… It’s a very jarring thing to learn when you’re young, and it was a pretty crappy thing to learn.”
Haaima has pleaded not guilty to 96 of 98 separate charges, including multiple sexual assaults, sexual assault with a weapon, obtaining sexual services for consideration, child luring, and child pornography offences involving nearly 30 different complainants. The charges before the court in relation to this witness include obtaining sexual services for consideration, sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, and accessing child pornography while knowingly causing it to be viewed by the complainant.
The witness, now in her mid-twenties, testified that she met Haaima through Tinder while living in Kingston’s west end after moving to the city as a teenager.
She told the court she had been kicked out of her parents’ home at age 15, later stayed in a homeless shelter in another Ontario city, and eventually moved to Kingston.
At the time she met Haaima, she testified, she was 18 and working part-time at a retail franchise, struggling financially, and regularly using illegal cannabis.
“I was kind of stuck in a little bit of a rut,” she testified.
The witness described her initial interactions with Haaima on Tinder as ordinary and approachable, telling the court she viewed him as a “typical average, normal-looking guy” and “a really normal, charming guy.” She testified that his profile listed him as being in his late 20s or early 30s, though she later came to believe he was significantly older.
She said she ‘matched’ instantly with Haaima, who had already swiped right on her profile in the app, indicating his interest in her.
The witness also testified that she believed she appeared significantly younger than 18 at the time, estimating she may have looked “14 or 15.” She described herself as petite, “weighing maybe 100 pounds,” while Haaima was “very tall,” creating what she described as a noticeable size discrepancy between them.
According to her testimony, the pair first met at a bungalow that Haaima said he shared with a former partner. The witness told the court she remembered seeing family photographs showing Haaima, a young woman, and two dogs.
“I felt kind of crappy about it,” she testified. “I felt like I was imposing on somebody else’s life.”
Gifts, cannabis, and control
The witness said she later began visiting Haaima at an apartment near Taylor Kidd Boulevard and Bayridge Drive. Over time, she testified, marijuana became increasingly intertwined with the relationship.
She told the court she was struggling financially and appreciated gestures like takeout food and cannabis, which Haaima allegedly began providing to her. At one point, she testified that he gave her what she described as a surprisingly large quantity of marijuana in a freezer-sized Ziploc bag.
“I had never seen that much cannabis in my life,” she said.
Over time, she testified that her motivation for continuing to see Haaima shifted.
“Once the time had gone by,” she testified, she wasn’t as interested in pursuing a love relationship. “I was more focused on getting the weed.”
Describing what she characterized as the first “major red flag” in the relationship, the witness stated that during one visit to Haaima’s apartment, she had just entered the unit and was bent down removing her shoes near the doorway when Haaima suddenly grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against a wall.
“It happened quickly,” she told the court. “I just froze.”
According to the witness, Haaima did not say anything during the alleged incident, but she interpreted the act as an unmistakable display of control.
“The message was made very clear,” she testified. “Tread lightly. Be careful.”
She described maintaining eye contact with Haaima while he allegedly held her by the throat; then, she said, his demeanour appeared to shift suddenly.
“It was like there was a different person that was standing in front of me. It’s almost like a darkness shifted into his eyes.”
The witness told the court she did not confront Haaima afterward and instead attempted to avoid conflict.
“The type of fear that it was was ‘I need to be careful. I need to watch what I say,’” she testified, explaining that she hates conflict. “I wanted to avoid conflict at all costs.”
Sexual assault with a weapon
The witness later described an incident in which, she alleged, Haaima restrained her and sexually assaulted her using the handle of a screwdriver without warning or prior discussion.
She said the encounter unfolded so quickly that she struggled to process what was happening, describing it as painful and confusing.
“Now that I’m older, and I sit back and I’m looking through those moments… It wasn’t okay,” she testified. “I didn’t know what I was experiencing at the time.”
After the alleged assault, the witness said she quickly got dressed because she “just wanted to go home,” and testified that Haaima appeared to notice her discomfort.
“I believe that he picked up on the fact that I was uncomfortable,” she told the court, adding that Haaima then gave her a “bunch of cannabis” in a bag so large she struggled to conceal it on her person.
Allegations involving children
The witness also described two additional incidents related to the allegations before the court.
First, she testified about a drive she and Haaima took through Kingston’s west end, during which, she alleged, Haaima abruptly asked whether she would help lure a child from a schoolyard into his vehicle.
Haaima allegedly stopped the vehicle near a west end Kingston elementary school when classes were not in session. The witness testified that Haaima asked her whether she would convince a girl on recess to come to his car. She described the request as being made “very fast” and “extremely casual[ly],” catching her completely off guard.
No child was approached during the incident described in court.
She testified that her “ears were ringing,” that she felt intense stress, and that she focused on remaining calm because she was alone with Haaima in an enclosed vehicle and had previously seen how quickly his demeanour could change.
The witness said she repeatedly responded, “I don’t know,” rather than directly confronting him, because she wanted to de-escalate the situation and leave safely. She testified that the conversation eventually ended after Haaima appeared to realize he would not get further answers from her.
The testimony later shifted to an incident at Haaima’s apartment in which the witness said the two were eating pizza together. Haaima allegedly opened an older model black laptop and showed her video footage involving a man sexually molesting a very young child.
The witness told the court she was shocked by what she saw and immediately began questioning Haaima about it.
According to her evidence, Haaima indicated he had engaged in similar conduct involving a child previously “in his care,” though she said she could no longer clearly remember the precise details of what he told her because she mentally “checked out” of the conversation.
She testified that she quickly fabricated an excuse to leave the apartment and then left immediately.
Cross-examination by defence counsel Natasha Calvinho was expected to have begun Tuesday afternoon as the judge-only trial continues before Justice Ryan Bell in Kingston Superior Court.
By Michelle Dorey Forestell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on May 28, 2026 at 08:27
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